


Scale-Deep

by MilayaMilenZeal, Night_the_Dragon



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Dragon!Noctis, Genderless dragons, M/M, Mpreg, Virgin!Prompto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-06-09 12:20:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 71,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15267387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MilayaMilenZeal/pseuds/MilayaMilenZeal, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Night_the_Dragon/pseuds/Night_the_Dragon
Summary: Despite all their technological advances, Niflheim had been unsuccessful in laying claim to Lucis. Not only did the inhabitants of Lucis refuse to submit, the “Holy Dragons” of Insomnia sought to undermine them at every possible turn. However, the dragons’ fury at the invasion doesn’t leave Lucis unscathed, and when their rage turns to the people’s livestock, the village of Galahd declares it needed to appease their unending rage before it kills them all.Prompto is one of the many sacrifices meant to appease the Holy Dragons.





	1. Terror

**Author's Note:**

> Random idea that just popped up out of nowhere. Don't ask where it came from or where it's going; I got NO idea...

Galahd was a small village; despite the amount of people living there, compared to Lestallum, Galahd was almost inconspicuous. The only real thing that separated them from the other villages and cities, was that Galahd was located right next to the Holy Land of Insomnia, where the descendants of Bahamut known as the Holy Dragons lived and oversaw the entire continent of Lucis.

The people of Galahd would often bring the dragons offerings from both themselves and other villages, and the relation between the two races had always been a pleasant one.

That is, until Niflheim came down onto the shores of Lucis.

When the Empire came to Lucis with the sole intent of taking the entire continent over, to add to their own realm, it wasn’t just the people of Lucis who revolted; it was the dragons as well. Furious at having their homes invaded, the dragons had begun to stray from the mountains upon which they resided, to assist the people of Lucis in fighting back against the invading force. Not an easy feat, given the Empire’s technological prowess.

Many dragons fell, and this only added to the remaining dragons’ fury. They began to lash out blindly, causing everyone, even inhabitants of Lucis to fear the dragons. But rather than attempt to take them out, the people tried to calm their anger. Sadly, all plans had ended in failure, and only seemed to make matters worse.

And now, that fury seemed to focus on the village of Galahd…

 

It seemed like your average morning that day to the people of Galahd, with the sun rising above the horizon from over the tops of what people called the “Citadel”, a structure that no human had ever seen up close, but they knew it to be the home of the Holy Dragons of Insomnia. The same went for Prompto, a young blonde man living in Galahd since forever. He’d never known any other place; to his knowledge, he was born and raised here.

With his parents having been killed during the Empire’s invasion when they were on a trip to Lestallum, he had lived the past few years being cared for by friends of his family, the Sophiar family, headed by the ever grumpy but kind Cid Sophiar. He had accepted that his parents wouldn’t be coming back anymore, but he couldn’t help but continue to miss them on occasion.

He, like many others in Galahd, looked after the Garulas that lived in the area surrounding Insomnia. These creatures were raised for both their milk, fur and meat, but to many in Galahd, they were treated as part of their collective family. So losing any of them, even due to old age, felt like a blow to anyone.

After finishing breakfast, Prompto stepped out of his little house and stretched out his arms as he took a big breath of fresh air. At twenty years of age, he was almost as scrawny as he had been when he was a mere teen. He was one of the few blondes living in the village, which already made him stand out, but the numerous freckles made it all the more so.

Still, in Galahd, he was as normal and casual as everyone else. And that was perfectly fine with him.

Once he was properly awake, he went out to the fields he tended to, the ones he had taken over when his parents had passed away. However, the moment he walked into the pastures and had shut the fence behind him, he frowned deeply when he realized that there a was actually a section of his livestock missing.

“The hell…?” he mumbled, confused and wondering if, maybe, someone had come by and stolen a few of them. However, as he walked further into the fields, he soon spotted something along the grassy fields that threw that theory out the window; heavy, deep imprints of massive claws that were so familiar to him… but not in his fields. And the moment he realized that, his eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat.

“Oh…shit…” the blonde breathed in horror. The dragons had been here… and they’d stolen (and more than likely devoured) some of his livestock!

Looking around at the remainder only confirmed his suspicions; the Garulas were scattered to all corners of the field, gathered in small groups and never staying still. It was a definite sign that they were terrified of whatever had come for their brethren that night. And there was only so much that could frighten a herd of Garulas.

Dragons were definitely among that short list.

Thoroughly panicking now, Prompto bolted to the elder’s house, hoping that he could do something.

 

It wasn’t a long run, but when he arrived, he realized he wasn’t alone in suffering from missing livestock; several other familiar faces were already there, scattered around the elder’s house, equally as panicked as Prompto had been when he had set out.

“Prompto!” a familiar voice called out, drawing his attention to the side. And it took him only a moment to spot his old friend, Cindy Aurum, a blonde young woman working with her grandfather both on the fields and in his garage on whatever gadgets he had there currently.

“Cindy! Yours got hit, too, huh?” he guessed, walking over to her.

Cindy had been his closest friend growing up, and, for a while, he’d even had a small crush on her. Sadly, Cindy was married to her work and had never looked at him like that, or even considered him to be a suitable partner, and, gradually, his feelings for her had faded.

“Yeah… same as everyone, hun…” the blonde said with a small sigh, as she looked at the others pleading their case with the elder. “…they’ve never taken this many ‘fore…”

“Geez… I wonder what’s been going on with them?” Prompto frowned.

“I can guess…” Cindy mumbled. “Prolly has ta do wit’ them losin’ so many of their brothers ‘gainst Niflheim…”

“Still, I just don’t get why so much is being taken now…”

“Tryin’ to repopulate?” Cindy offered with a shrug.

“Maybe… Hard to say.”

Just then, the elder called out to everyone gathered there. “Everyone, please! Calm yourselves!” he said, and, slowly, the others fell silent. “I know that things seem bleak… but I’m sure this can be fixed. We need only appease the Holy Dragons’ anger. That way, they should leave our village well enough alone.”

“You say ‘should’… what guarantee do we have that they won’t keep attacking us anyway!?”

Prompto listened, frowning curiously. A glance toward Cindy confirmed that she was just as worried and curious. He knew that the dragons very rarely demanded anything from the villagers, and the few times they did, it was never because they were enraged with humans. Thankfully, they’d only ever demanded some dragon fruit from them, which were fruits that the people of Galahd grew and the dragons seemed to love (which was why they’d been called “dragon fruit”, duh).

“Please… have some faith. We’ve always served the dragons faithfully. They’ve no reason to hold this against us if we explain the situation proper,” the elder continued to try and calm people down.

Cindy bit her lip worriedly. “Would they listen, though?” she murmured softly, unheard by most.

“True…” Prompto nodded softly.

It was clear that many others shared the pair’s worries, but at the same time, no one else had any better ideas. So, really, there was nothing else they could do at this point.

Just then, Cindy suddenly nudged him to his side, drawing his attention away from the elder. “Hey, ya need some help with your herd now?” she asked. “Doubt we’re gonna be much use here… the council will help decide what’s gonna happen here.”

“Yeah, may as well, thanks,” Prompto smiled slightly.

Cindy nodded softly, following him toward his field to help him tend to his herd. Well… what remained of it, anyway.

 

Getting the Garulas to calm down was a lot more difficult than Prompto’d ever experienced. Sure, they sometimes got spooked when some small critters got into the line of sight suddenly, but this was beyond anything he’d ever seen. He almost got trampled twice by a worried mother Garula until she seemed to realize who he was again, but one time had been sudden enough that he’d tripped and nearly sprained his ankle.

“How’s your foot, hun?”

“It hurts a bit, but I’ll be okay…” Prompto sighed. It wasn’t the first time he’d ever sprained his ankle, but it was still a pain and a half whenever it happened.

“Want me to get you some ice for that?” Cindy asked quietly, looking to the herd. “Looks like they’ve calmed down for now…”

“Thank the Six for that… And yeah might be a good idea. Thanks, Cindy,” the blonde male told her, wincing slightly when he felt a twinge of pain in said ankle.

“Alright… be back in a bit,” the other blonde said with a quick nod, before she hurried into his house to get the ice.

After she’d left, Prompto watched his herd quietly, wondering if they would be okay since the dragons were so angry. He knew that the dragons’ fury was nothing to laugh at, but it had rarely even been directed at their humble village; they were known to be devout followers of Bahamut’s teachings, after all. On top of that, they always arranged plenty of gifts and offerings for the dragons whenever their fury seemed to escalate for whatever reason, and it’d always helped curb their anger away from Galahd.

Now, though, it seemed like that was not longer enough…

Just then, one of the calves gave a short cry, moving through the herd, only to be knocked aside several times, making it cry out sadly over and over again. This confused him for about half a minute, before Prompto frowned sadly when he realized what was wrong: the calf’s mother had been taken.

Just as the thought finished, there was a freezing touch to his face.

“Gah!” Prompto yelped, before looking to see Cindy with the ice pack. “Geez, that’s fucking cold, Cindy!”

Cindy chuckled. “That’s the point, hun,” she said simply, passing it to him.

“True, but my face isn’t hurt…” he pouted, taking the ice pack and carefully setting it on his ankle with a hiss, making Cindy smile ruefully as she sat down next to him.

She then also noticed the calf and frowned sadly. “Poor lil guy…”

“Yeah… It’s so sad, especially since I kinda know how he feels…” Prompto mumbled.

His old friend frowned sadly, reaching out and gently patting his back.

“I’ll be fine, just not sure if he will…” Prompto sighed.

Nodding, Cindy turned back to the herd. After a few moments, though, she said: “Yanno… think one of Paw-paw’s herd lost her own calf… if ya dun mind…”

“No, if it gives the little guy a chance, I don’t mind at all,” Prompto assured her with a smile.

Smiling back at him, Cindy nodded softly. “Think ye’re gonna be alright on your leg ta help me get ‘im to Paw-paw’s, hun?”

“Yeah, I should be okay,” he nodded, getting to his feet with barely any trouble.

“Cool.”

Once Cindy had gotten to her own feet, they headed over to the herd after collecting a leash so as to lead the calf along. It took only a little bit of time for Prompto to secure it around the calf’s neck, as Cindy gently soothed it by rubbing its back.

“All right, little guy, you’re gonna get a new mommy,” Prompto murmured as they began to lead it away.

The calf whined a little bit, and while it didn’t seem to understand him, it did follow after them.

As they walked through the village, it was clear that most others had also returned home, probably to try and make the best of their current situation. It certainly wouldn’t be easy, but, hopefully, they wouldn’t have to go through this anymore before long.

“How long do you think we’ll go through this…?” Prompto wondered as they made their way to Cindy’s home.

“Not sure, hun…” Cindy admitted, sighing. “I’m hopin’ the dragons’re gonna let up ‘fore long… they should know we ain’t out ta hurt ‘m.”

“You’d think they’d have known that in the first place, though…”

“Yeah… but yanno that dragons have a bad temper.”

“Still…”

“I know, I know… it ain’t fair either way. Let’s just hope things blow over soon, alright?”

“Yeah…”

When they arrived at the fields that Cindy’s grandfather, Cid, cared for in his spare time, they could already hear the very distressed call of one of the Garulas. Clearly, she had never stopped looking for her calf.

“Poor girl…” Prompto murmured.

“Yeah…” Cindy sighed as she went ahead to open the fence for Prompto to walk in with the calf. Once he was in, he quickly spotted the Garula in question, with old Cid by her side, trying to calm her down.

“Heya Cid,” the blonde male called in greeting.

“Hm?” The old man looked up at the call, before he nodded as he stepped over. “Heya, kid,” he said as per his usual greeting. “What brings you here, huh?”

“Cindy told me about the mother here who lost her calf. Figured she could take care of this little one, whose mom was taken last night, too,” Prompto explained, gesturing to the calf.

“That so?” Cid muttered as Cindy moved to undo the leash on the calf. “Can’t guarantee the old gal’s gonna be receptive… but suppose it can’t hurt ta try.”

“Well, it’d at least do them some good if she takes to it,” Prompto smiled.

“Can’t deny that…” Cid agreed, as the calf, now that it was free, scampered ahead, toward the mother Garula.

“I hope this works…” Prompto murmured.

“You and us both…” Cindy said softly.

As the Garula calf whined and cried as it went up to the mother Garula, the heftier beast turned to it with a groaning cry. However, as the calf pressed up to her, whining, she didn’t push it away. That in itself was a good thing, and when she finally gave a pleased and almost relieved groan, as she nudged her head against the calf, the humans watching her breathed a sigh of relief.

“Oh thank Bahamut…” the blonde girl sighed out.

“Yeah, really,” Prompto agreed.

“Well, looks like those two’ll be fine, then…” Cid said with a hint of relief audible in his voice as well.

“Always good to see a happy ending in this case,” Prompto nodded happily.

“Definitely,” Cindy agreed.

“Arrite… let’s give those two some alone time, shall we?” Cid said then, and he began to lead the pair back toward the entrance.

“Sounds good,” Prompto agreed as he followed.

Once they were out and the fence was shut behind them, Cindy turned to Prompto. “Ya wanna stay for a cup-a coffee, hun? ‘s The least we can offer ya.”

“Sure, that’d be nice,” Prompto smiled kindly.

“Nice~ Let’s go!” Cindy said, taking Prompto’s arm and tugging him along.

Prompto laughed lightly as he was tugged, allowing his friend to do so.

 

Once inside, Cindy immediately went to work on fixing some coffee, while Cid disappeared into the garage to work on, whatever it was he had going now. Cid always did like to tinker, even if his gadgets would never be on par with Niflheim’s.

Prompto took a seat at the table, patiently waiting for the coffee, and while he waited, he asked, “So, what’s Cid been working on lately?

“Paw-paw’s been tryin’ to get the flying ship to work,” Cindy said with a chuckle. “It’s goin’ slow, but he’s making good time.”

“Nice,” he said with a grin. “Can’t wait to see it when it’s done.”

“You and me both,” Cindy admitted as she poured the coffee. “Maybe then we can go have a chat with the dragons.”

“Maybe. They probably wouldn’t appreciate the new visitors, though,” Prompto replied.

“Maybe not immediately, but hey. Who knows? They might like having some company that’s not dragons!”

“I guess only time will tell,” the blonde male chuckled.

“Hmhmm,” Cindy said as she passed Prompto his cup of coffee.

“Thanks, Cindy,” he smiled, blowing on it a little before taking a sip.

“No problem, hun,” Cindy said as she moved over to take a seat as well, sipping her own coffee.

As Prompto drank his coffee, the pair in a companionable silence, the blonde male looked out towards Insomnia, idly wondering what it and the dragons were truly like.

Cindy, too, was looking out to Insomnia. “…What do you think the dragons are really like?”

“No idea, but it’s hard to say unless we were to try and get to know them without violence or bloodshed involved…” Prompto murmured.

“Yeah… but with the Empire invading… there’s no chance of that anytime soon…”

“Unfortunately…”

They sat for a moment more, sipping their coffee quietly. When Cindy finished her coffee, she stood up again. “Well… I’d better get back to work. You should too, I’m sure. We got lots of extra work to do with part of our herd missing.”

“Right. I’ll catch ya later, Cindy,” Prompto smiled, before heading out back to his home.

“Later, hun,” Cindy said, waving him goodbye.

As he walked through the village, he saw a number of people filling a cart of fresh fruit. Primarily the so-called “dragon fruit”, a fruit that was known to be a favorite of the dragons. So, he figured, it was probably a cart meant to appease to the dragons’ mercy. Which, to be honest, he hoped would actually work.

As he continued on home, suddenly, a shadow passed over the blonde, and he blinked, startled, as he looked up.

And just in time to see a large figure flying overhead, moving almost like it was swimming through the air, heading toward Insomnia.

‘ _Was that…a dragon…?_ ’ Prompto thought in awe.

Just as the creature disappeared out of view, Prompto spotted the cart leaving from the corner of his eyes.

‘ _That was…something else…_ ’ he thought as he looked to where the cart was going.


	2. Rejected Offering

As the cart rolled out, one of the drivers sighed as he stretched his arms over his head. “Ya think the dragons’ll accept the offering?” he asked of his companion.

“Who knows?” the blonde beside him mumbled, not looking up from leading the Chocobos down the barely trodden path.

“You could at least show you care, yanno?” the brunette mumbled in turn.

“…pass.”

His friend almost pouted, before he sighed and leaned his head on one hand. As he looked back to the ‘offering’ the village had prepared, he honestly hoped that the dragons would accept it. Since they lived so close to Insomnia, it wouldn’t do for them to get on the dragons’ bad side. Sure, this kind of offering had helped before, but things were seriously not looking good with the Empire invading their territory. The Holy Dragons had definitely not been pleased with the invasion and hadn’t hesitated to show it, either.

“ _Kweeeeh!_ ” the Chocobos suddenly cried out, balking back and almost knocking the cart backwards, startling them both.

Thankfully, when the driver tugged on the reins firmly and called out (“Whoa!”), the birds calmed down just enough for them or their cargo to not be thrown down to the ground.

“What’s going on!?” the brunette choked out, but the blonde didn’t respond; his eyes were, instead, drawn into a frown and aimed at something above them. And one glance up made it clear why; circling in the sky above them, was the large, looming body of a single dragon. Which was followed shortly by a blood-curdling roar that, once more, had the Chocobos staggering in fright.

“…!” Suddenly, the blonde’s eyes widened in alarm, and he moved swiftly, grabbing his friend by his collar and dragging him off the cart, while simultaneously undoing the latches on the Chocobos, letting them run free. He didn’t let them go far, though, as the two of them moved almost in tandem – once the brunette realized what was happening – and leaped on the Chocobos’ back.

And not a moment too soon as the dragon came down on the cart, smashing it to bits and roaring after them as they spurred the birds on. The Chocobos squealed in fright as they bolted off, though they were still clear enough in their mind to let the humans lead them away to safety.

As they got out of range, though, the brunette groaned. “We’re screwed… aren’t we?”

“…probably,” the blonde grunted.

“… _fuuuuuck_ …”

 

As Prompto worked on tending to his herd, he perked up when he heard the familiar sound of Chocobos running. Looking for the source, he spotted Cloud and Zack, the pair that had left with the cart earlier. Normally them returning would be a good thing… if their birds hadn’t been so utterly panicked that they almost knocked everyone in their path over.

“Cloud? Zack! Is everything okay? What happened?” he called, heading over to them.

As the two men managed to calm the Chocobos and dismounted, Zack sighed heavily, rubbing the bird’s neck to ease its obviously frazzled nerves. “…it didn’t go well… let’s keep it at that…”

“Damn… Are you guys okay, at least?” the smaller male asked, concerned.

“…as good as…” Cloud mumbled.

“Fair enough…” Prompto conceded, gently petting the taller blonde’s Chocobo on the beak to try and calm it down.

“Kweeeh…” the bird whined, nuzzling against Prompto a bit.

“It’s okay now, buddy,” he soothed, smiling slightly. “Do you guys wanna rest for a bit before reporting to the elder?”

“…no… no, we should get this settled as soon as possible…” Zack said with a sigh. “Could you look after these boys for us, Prom?”

“Absolutely. I love Chocobos,” Prompto smiled, taking the reins from both men. “I’ll see you guys later, then.”

Zack nodded in thanks as he followed after Cloud, who had already gone ahead.

“Kweeeeeh…” the second Chocobo cooed unhappily.

“Easy, bud,” Prompto soothed, petting its neck. “Come on, let’s get you two some food and water, okay?” With that said, he led them back to his home, tying them by the reins to the fence near the water trough and getting some greens for them.

 

“How’re we gonna explain this to the council?” Zack asked with a slight groan.

“…we just do,” was Cloud’s only response.

“Not helping, dude…”

Cloud, of course, was unimpressed by the situation. Nor did he look up when other villagers watched them go, worry evident on their faces as they walked through the village. Rather than focus on that, he walked ahead of Zack toward the elder’s house and walked inside without waiting for the other man.

And as soon as they stepped inside, the conversation that had clearly been going on inside came to a stop as the council and elder turned to them in surprise. Once Zack was in, Cloud pushed the door shut and turned to the other men.

Before they could ask, though…

“…they didn’t take it…” he said simply.

“What!?”

“Wh-what do you mean they didn’t take it?!”

Zack sighed softly, shaking his head. “What he means is, one of the dragons swooped in and crushed the cart… didn’t even bother with the fruits unless it ate them after… but they usually don’t resort to reckless destruction.”

Naturally, the council began to panic and even the elder looked more than a little worried. However, after a while, the elder sighed and held a hand to his head. “…thank you, Cloud, Zack,” he said, almost sadly. “You may leave… we… need to consider the options we have left…”

“Yes sir,” Zack said solemnly, not noticing how his friend’s gaze was drawn to the heavy, bound leather tome that was on the man’s desk. Instead, he moved to pull his friend out, to leave the council to decide what to do.

As soon as they were out and the door had closed behind them, though, Cloud snorted. “…like that’s gonna work…”

“Huh wha…?”

Cloud scoffed a bit and mumbled: “…they intend to use virgin sacrifices…”

“…What?! How’d you—!?”

“…that’s what he was reading.”

“Y-yeah but—”

“Why else would he be?”

“Well… um…” However, Cloud didn’t bother waiting for the response and just started off again. “H-hey! Wait up!!”

 

“Kweh…” the Chocobo chirped sadly as it let Prompto pet its head gently.

“It’s okay, buddy,” Prompto murmured. “I bet you miss them, huh?”

“Kweh,” the bird answered, snuggling a little closer.

However, before Prompto could say anything else, the other bird perked its head up, blinking, before it chirped and got up to its feet to head for the fence. As Prompto looked up when it did, and he waved in greeting to Cloud and Zack before getting to his feet and going to them. “How’d it go?” he asked worriedly.

“…I dunno…” Zack admitted as he patted the approaching Chocobo’s neck, before rubbing its head a little.

“Did the elder say what the plan might be?”

“…no, but we… well, Cloud _did_ see what he was reading up on… and… that’s kinda the problem…” Zack groaned as Cloud walked over as well.

“What do you mean?” Prompto frowned.

“…Well…”

“…the elder intends to employ a medieval negotiation method,” Cloud stated bluntly, patting his Chocobo’s head softly.

“H-hey…!”

“Wait, what?” Prompto said, quirking a brow in confusion.

“…ah, well… I think the council was already looking into other options… just in case this didn’t work…” Zack started, rubbing the back of his head. “And… well… the elder was reading this tome on an… old method that… usually… worked…”

“…‘usually’,” Cloud said solemnly.

“And that method would be…?” Prompto frowned, now becoming a little worried.

“U-um… w-well…”

Cloud regarded the other man for a few moments, before he sighed in annoyance. “…virgin sacrifices.”

“…What.”

“…Uh… y-yeah…” Zack got out.

“The hell?! How the hell is he supposed to know who falls into the category of virgin?!” Prompto yelped.

“I don’t know, Prom… but there’s already been a lot of demand for… SOMETHING to be done… going by what we heard people mumble about on the way here…” Zack said with a small frown. “Either the council had to do something, or the people would go and try to deal with it on their own…”

“I know that something needs to be done, but for crying out loud, _virgin sacrifices_?! I don’t like the idea of anyone having to be sacrificed…!”

“I know! But what can we do?”

“You’re right, I know, but this still sucks…”

Zack nodded, clearly agreeing with the younger man, before he turned to his friend. “Hey, Cloud? Don’t you have anything to say about this?”

“…no.”

Prompto sighed heavily. “Ugh, I hate this…” he mumbled, before looking back at his herd. “I’d better get back to work, but I’ll catch you guys later…”

“Right…” Zack said as he began to lead his Chocobo away, with Cloud going his own way shortly after.

As Prompto went back to his herd, he was inwardly panicking, knowing full well he would more than likely be picked. He’d never been in any sort of relationship or had a fling with anyone, and everyone knew this, so he was a definite candidate.

He was pretty sure he wouldn’t be the only one; the elder – well, probably the council members, more like – would likely want to get as many people as he could into this, if only to assure the dragons had plenty of “choices”… Which worried him, because the most obvious virgins were those who were just barely in their teens.

He honestly hoped they’d be okay…

The blonde then looked to Insomnia, and he hoped to Bahamut that everything would be okay in the end.


	3. Sacrificed

When Prompto woke the next morning, it was to a lot of ruckus from outside, mainly shouts and panicked voices. Frowning in concern, the blonde got out of bed and quickly got dressed for the day before slipping on his shoes and heading towards the source.

Once he came outside, it didn’t take him long to spot the crowd that surrounded the notice board where the elders would post important announcements, with their murmurings gradually beginning to escalate to shouts. Given what he’d already heard from Zack and Cloud the day before, Prompto already had an idea of what would be causing that, but he still moved through the crowd so he could make absolutely sure. And when he got the front and was looking at the notice board, sure enough, he was right: there was a notice about the upcoming sacrifice, as well as a list of the people who were chosen for the virgin sacrifices. And he soon spotted his name on the list, which, while it’d been expected, made him pale.

“Are they crazy!?” he heard someone shout out just then. “They expect us to just… go along with this?! Do they think we’re THAT desperate!?”

“Mommy, I’m scared!”

“Bahamut’s blade! Do they think we’ll accept this!?

‘ _Damn, I knew this wouldn’t go over very well…_ ’ Prompto thought sadly. ‘ _But if there’s no other option for there to be peace between us and the dragons…_ ’

Just as the commotion seemed to reach a fever pitch, a roar filled the air and silenced everyone, causing everyone to freeze in place.

“What the—?!” Prompto gasped, looking around in a panic.

A quick glance around revealed the source; a single, but massive dragon had just flown up from Insomnia, roaring and screeching its fury to the world as it flew.

‘ _Oh **shit!!**_ ’ Prompto thought in horror as he began to run to his home for safety. And he wasn’t the only one; everyone else screamed as they bolted for their own homes, the adults carrying the children with them.

Prompto managed to make it home without incident, breathing heavily from the adrenaline pumping through his veins still. Once he had calmed down, he peeked outside through the window, just barely catching the dragon as it disappeared along the horizon.

“Shit… I wonder why it appeared in town like that…?” Prompto murmured, frowning in concern.

As he leaned back against the door again, worry began to gnaw on his mind. Despite the fear over being offered as a sacrifice, he began to wonder if, maybe, this really was the only way to ensure the rest of the village remained safe…

“Maybe…just maybe…this is the best thing to do…” Prompto sighed heavily.

 

It wasn’t until an hour had passed after the dragon passing over, that people started coming out again. As Prompto stepped out, though, he couldn’t help but keep think back on his earlier thought.

Deciding to talk to Cindy about it, he made his way to her house, knocking on the door.

As the door opened, Cindy blinked, before she frowned sadly. “Hey, hun… you okay?” she asked as she stepped to the side so he could come in.

“Not really, but I can’t help but think that it’s the best option…” Prompto mumbled as he went inside, taking a seat at the table.

“Hun, ya can’t be serious…” Cindy pointed out. “Sacrificing yerself for the good of others…”

“Still, what else is there we can do, Cindy?” Prompto sighed, dropping his head onto his arms on the table with a soft thud.

“Uh… _anything else_?” Cindy said. “There’s gotta be _somethin’_ we can do…”

“Well, I got nothin’. Unless someone has a better, guaranteed method, then I don’t see what else we can do…”

Cindy looked like she was about to say something, but she had nothing, like Prompto had already figured.

The blonde man sighed heavily, before smiling sadly. “I guess you guys will get my herd, then.”

“Prom, don’t start!” Cindy started. “There’s no telling who they’d pick. There’s just as much a chance they’ll pick someone else.”

“Well, my name’s on the list. Who’s to say they won’t use a majority, if not all of us, just to make sure everyone else is guaranteed safety?”

“I’m actually talking about the dragons, hun…”

“Still…”

Cindy sighed, walking over and hugging her friend. “It’ll be okay, hun… you’ll see; everything’ll work out just fine.”

“I really hope so, Cindy…”

 

As the day moved on, it became clear that Prompto wasn’t the only one who had come to the conclusion that this might be the only possible solution left for them. Especially when a multitude of angry roaring echoed through the skies from the direction of Insomnia. This only strengthened the resolve of many of the “sacrifices” to do this… for the sake of everyone.

“I still say it shouldn’t have to come to this…” Zack pointed out as he and Cloud escorted Prompto and a few other girls and boys (most of them teens), toward the designated area. All of them were dressed in “traditional” white garbs that were supposed to indicate that they were “pure”.

“…hm.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it now, though, Zack,” Prompto pointed out softly.

“Well… yeah… but…”

“It’s whatever now…”

“…” Zack sighed. “…it’s not right…”

“…deal with it,” was Cloud’s response.

Prompto went quiet after that, merely walking along.

 

The walk was long and spent in silence for the most part, with the exception of the few teens (mostly girls) who were quietly crying and sobbing. They were traveling down a barely trodden path, toward a large, open area. It had been the point at first to bring the earlier offerings here, but after the ambush on the cart, they intended to bring the sacrifices here. It was wide enough for it for them to be far enough apart so that a dragon could, potentially, snatch one of them up without causing harm to the others.

Not a pleasant thought, but it was better than the alternative where every sacrifice would end up injured or dead.

As they finally arrived, there were several “stages” set up, each with a pillar in the center and surrounded by pieces of dragon fruit, meant to entice the dragons into choosing one of them.

“Six… this is so messed up…” Zack growled softly.

Prompto remained quiet, feeling almost resigned to his fate, and he wasn’t the only one; the other sacrifices were either whimpering or sniffling. Still, when the “guards” moved to get them onto the platforms, one per stage, they all walked along silently, most of them with their heads down.

When it was Prompto’s turn, the smaller male allowed Zack to help him onto the stage, his gaze lowered as well, strongly anticipating one of the dragons grabbing him.

As Zack moved to tie Prompto’s hands around the pillar in the center, as the others were doing as well, the brunette murmured: “Sorry, Prom…”

“It’s not your fault, Zack… Don’t be sorry,” Prompto mumbled.

“…” A small sigh escaped Zack, as he tugged the rope into place. “…when this is over… we’ll head out on Sora and Choco, alright?”

“Right…”

Once everything and everyone was prepared, Zack stepped back and away. But not before patting Prompto on his shoulder. The gesture made Prompto want to cry, almost, because he knew this was a completely unfair fate for all of them.

It felt like forever that they all stood there, just waiting for the inevitable end. Prompto wasn’t even sure how long they were standing there, but it was long enough for his arms to grow numb when there was a loud scream-like roar that resounded through the air. The blonde tensed up, and hesitantly looked up to see the source.

His position against the pole didn’t make it easy, but he finally managed to look around it enough to spot the massive figure flying in circles above them, roaring loudly.

‘ _Fuck… Here we go…_ ’ he thought, mentally bracing himself for the end.

For the longest time, nothing really happened, and the dragon just flew in circles high above them, as if it was contemplating something.

‘ _Probably trying to figure out who to grab…_ ’ Prompto thought miserably, which was exactly when the dragon released a bloodcurdling roar and pitched forward.

And Prompto froze up, squeezing his eyes shut tightly so as not to see what happened.

Initially, the only indicator that the dragon had descended was the rush of air that came over him. However, when he didn’t hear the dragon leave, he peeked out through his eye to see the creature turning on a dime with a roar more akin to a snarl than anything.

‘What the…?’ he frowned in confusion, watching.

And then, without warning, it roared out furiously and dove in.

The following events happened so fast that Prompto didn’t even have the chance to properly react. One moment the dragon was almost a mile above the clearing, and the next its claws slammed down, destroying the platform Prompto was on. And as the wooden planks gave way under him, one of the dragon’s claws closed around him before it hit the ground.

He was faintly aware of someone screaming… he wasn’t sure if it was himself or someone else to the side, but by the time he became aware of that, the ground had already disappeared beneath the dragon’s claw as it roared yet again. And one glance down confirmed his fears; the distance between him and the ground grew greater and greater, as the dragon carried him higher and higher into the air.

‘ _Fuck…!!_ ’ Prompto thought in a panic, his bright blue eyes wide in horror and panic.

The wind was freezing against his face as the dragon rose higher and higher, its heavy wings beating steadily. This also helped Prompto to calm himself down enough to be able to get a better look at the dragon.

It was huge, but that was a given, and its body was covered in scales as black as the night, though they seemed to have a slight dark blue sheen to them in the sunlight. He couldn’t see its eyes, but he could just faintly make out the sharp horns that lined the side of its face, along what would be the cheeks on a human’s face to arch back from the top of its head. And upon glancing around the claw holding him, Prompto could see its tail lightly swaying behind it, a sharp blade-like tip snapping out at the sky.

All in all, Prompto had to admit, the dragon looked impressive up close like this. If he wasn’t killed, maybe things would turn out okay…he hoped. It was then that Prompto caught on to something; the dragon wasn’t actually heading for Insomnia, as had been initially expected of it.

‘ _Where’s it taking me…?_ ’ Prompto frowned, worried now.

He didn’t have to worry for long; as the dragon soon began to descend once again, toward what appeared to be some sort of ravine just outside of Insomnia that Prompto hadn’t even known existed. The blonde watched in confusion, hoping things weren’t about to go from bad to worse. As the dragon descended, it dipped down and then spun on its side, going through the ravine sideways before leveling out and gliding along.

Now that they were through, Prompto looked ahead, still confused and concerned.

Then, just as suddenly, the dragon swerved to the side, and into an almost hidden cave within the ravine’s walls. And once inside, it dropped down onto the ground there, and began to walk further inside.

Prompto was almost tempted to try and ask what the dragon had planned for him, but he had a feeling he should probably just keep his mouth shut.

It took only a little bit for the dragon to reach what appeared to be a cavern used to live in. And the moment the dragon had entered fully, it threw Prompto further in to roll across the floor.

“Ah…!” Prompto yelped, hissing in pain as the rocks on the cavern scraped against his skin.

The dragon growled angrily, claws scraping along the floor as its dark blue, almost violet eyes regarded the human with something akin to disdain. As he saw this, Prompto couldn’t help it; he scooted back until his back was against the rock wall, watching the dragon warily.

As another growl escaped the large beast, it bared its large, razor sharp teeth, its claws scraping over the floor. An involuntary whimper escaped Prompto, and he watched, more than a little scared at this point. The dragon looked REALLY angry, and there was no telling what an angry dragon could and/or would do.

And then, the beast roared and without warning lunged forward, at which point the blonde flinched harshly, knowing he was a goner.


	4. The Holy Dragons

But before the dragon could either snap its jaw down on him, or even claw at him with its massive talons, another roar echoed through the cavern as something slammed into the dragon and threw it sideways and into the wall.

Prompto watched, shocked, as he saw the newcomer, another dragon. What the hell was going on now?!

This dragon looked much the same as the first; black scales, and heavy limbs the size of tree trunks, and its horns also arched along its jaw and the top of its head. There didn’t appear to be so many differences between the two, so Prompto assumed they were, somehow, related. The newcomer put itself between the first and Prompto, growling.

Prompto stared, shocked that the second dragon was defending him. Not that he was complaining; it certainly beat being dead.

He didn’t get long to contemplate, though, as the first dragon got back to its feet and roared at the newcomer – and then it _spoke!_

“YOU LITTLE _BRAT!!_ ” it roared, and the voice with which it spoke seemed… somewhat female but not entirely. “HOW DARE YOU GET IN MY WAY?!?!”

The blonde remained quiet, frozen out of fear.

“How dare _I_!?” the other dragon demanded, its voice being slightly heavier than that of the first. “How dare _YOU_ abduct a human?! You know the laws forbid the unlawful acquisition of a human!!”

‘ _So, wait, the sacrifice wouldn’t have done anything, then?!_ ’ Prompto thought in disbelief.

“That is _NONE_ of _YOUR_ concern!! Now get out of my way!!”

“I refuse! I won’t let you continue your pointless rampage any longer! It won’t fix anything!!”

“THOSE UNGRATEFULS DESERVE EVERYTHING!! I WILL NOT LET THEM GET AWAY WITH WHAT THEY’VE DONE!!!”

“But the people of Galahd are innocent!! Focusing your rage on them will solver _nothing_!!”

“THEY’RE ALL THE SAME!! IT DOESN’T MATTER FROM WHENCE THEY CAME!!”

Prompto frowned heavily at the first dragon’s words, wanting to argue his village’s case, but wisely kept quiet for now.

The second dragon growled softly, but there was a subtle tension along its shoulders, as its wings arched down to properly block Prompto from the first dragon. “Please just stop this!” it shouted to the other. “You’ll only make things worse!!”

“I don’t need _YOUR_ advice! I don’t need _ANYONE_! Now get OUT of my way!!”

Prompto tensed up further at the order, hoping the second dragon wouldn’t heed it.

“No.”

“Get out of my way or I WILL hurt you!”

“I am NOT moving!”

Now the blonde really hoped that the first dragon would just calm down. Unlikely at this point, but still.

“You stupid little—”

However, the first dragon’s words were cut off by a third roar. Then another dragon appeared, this one a rich, earthy brown in color, and larger than the first two, likely because this one was older (maybe?). Unlike the others, this one had horns that moved straight back from above its eyes, where a human’s eyebrows would’ve been. Its scales were also littered with scars; this was definitely a dragon that had seen some strive.

“Enough!” the third dragon snarled. “This has gone for long enough, dammit!”

While the second dragon was clearly relieved at the dragon’s arrival, the first was snarling furiously.

“I don’t take orders from _you_ , Shield!” it snarled.

The third dragon snorted, unimpressed. “And I care, why? You listen to no one, anyway.”

Prompto watched silently, hoping there would be someone the first dragon listened to that would show up. And preferably soon.

And that was when…

“Regina.”

That voice wasn’t like that of the dragons; in fact, it sounded _human_. Since he was still being blocked by the dragon’s wing, Prompto had to scoot forward and move the leather-like limb up a bit so he could see. And what he saw was a sandy blonde-haired man stepping forward, adjusting a pair of glasses on his nose. He wasn’t wearing the same “sacrificial robes” that Prompto had been forced into, and he didn’t remember him from Galahd, either. And he was pretty sure he knew just about everyone from the village.

“You may wish to stop. It won’t do if your father were to hear about this.”

Those words actually made the first dragon tense. “…you wouldn’t…!”

“Perhaps not… but are you prepared to take the risk that he will hear of this?”

“…nrgh!”

‘ _Who is he…?_ ’ the blonde wondered idly, but he remained focused on the conversation, as tense as it was.

The man waited for a moment more, and when the first dragon made no more moves, he hummed and nodded. “Very well. Now, I suggest you make your way home… before your father sends out Cor to retrieve you.”

“…grrrr…!” the dragon snarled, before it turned and briskly stomped away, further into the caverns.

“…thank Bahamut…” the second dragon sighed out – right before it flopped to the ground with a thud, causing the ground to shake. “Thanks, Iggy, Gladio…”

The third dragon nodded. “Just be glad we came with.”

Prompto couldn’t help but watch the sight in slight amusement from the second dragon’s actions. But he was still nervous as hell, to say the least.

The dragon didn’t seem to notice the blonde’s amusement, as it moved to get a bit more comfortable, folding its wings along its back as it crossed its forelegs under its body. And as it released a loud sigh/exhale, the sandy blonde walked over to Prompto.

“Are you hurt? Can you stand?” he asked, frowning worriedly as he held out a hand.

The blonde blinked in slight surprise, before he accepted the offered hand and stood up. “…I’m not hurt too bad, it’s just some scrapes from being rolled along the rocks,” he assured the sandy blonde. “Thank you for your help, though. I didn’t know what it was going to take…”

The man nodded, his frown easing up. “Am I safe to assume you are from Galahd, given your… unique dress code?”

“Eh, yeah… Not really what I’d normally wear, actually…” Prompto admitted. “Hearing the conversation from before, the reason behind these just seems flat-out stupid now…”

“Hm… most humans nowadays have forgotten the results of many of their exploits… or why they were done,” the man admitted.

“Well, because of the issues lately, the elder of Galahd suggested a stupid…virgin sacrifice, and I was among them…” Prompto sighed heavily. “Hence the clothes.”

This made the man chuckle. “Clearly…”

Suddenly, the black dragon snorted. “Ugh… so stupid… why’s it matter if they’re ‘virgins’ anyway? What makes ‘m so special?”

The human smiled at the dragon. It was almost as though the dragon was more of an annoyed human teenager than a deadly beast. He probably would’ve thought it was one, too, if he didn’t have the proof in front of him that it was definitely a dragon. “Well, some humans hold virgins in very high regard.”

“…sooooo stupid…” the dragon reiterated.

“I’ll agree with you there,” Prompto nodded softly. “…Can I at least know your names?”

“…Ah, right, my apologies,” the man said. “My name is Ignis Scientia.” Turning briefly, he gestured for the brown dragon. “Over there is Gladiolus Amicitia.”

“Nice to meet you both, though I wish it was under better circumstances,” Prompto said politely, making Gladiolus grunt in acknowledgement. The blonde then looked at the black dragon. “And your name?”

The black dragon turned its head a bit to regard Prompto, before it hummed softly. “Noctis,” it said casually.

“Thank you for protecting me before, Noctis,” Prompto murmured. “My name’s Prompto Argentum, by the way.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Ignis said with a nod.

Noctis merely hummed as he briefly stretched out his limbs, grunting as the joints popped. Gladiolus nodded in silent greeting at the words. Prompto then couldn’t help but ask, “Who was that before, anyway? And why were they so angry with humans?”

That question had Ignis frowning, but he didn’t answer immediately. Noctis, however, snarled softly, as he pushed himself up on his front legs. “…I guess she’s my… what’s the word, Iggy? Sister?”

“Yes, Noct, that’s the word,” Ignis confirmed with a small bemused smile.

“Right, that…” Noctis nodded his large head. “She has… a history with humans. …The Empire, anyway.”

Prompto frowned sadly at the information. “I’m sorry to hear that… I hate how the Empire’s dealt out so much misery and pain in all of this…”

“It’s not your fault,” Noctis said as he adjusted his position, turning so that he could properly face Prompto. “Most of us don’t blame you or anyone on Lucis… but there’s a lot of us who have lost many of their brethren. So… yeah, you can imagine they don’t want to sit back and spin twigs ‘round their horns.”

The phrase made Prompto blink, before he laughed lightly. “Fair enough,” he agreed, but then frowned again. “So…what do I do now?”

Ignis hummed, before he looked to Noctis. “Noct?”

“Yeah, yeah,” the black dragon said with a sigh. “I can get you back home if you want… plus I can help explain things to your elder…. so they won’t do this stuff again.”

“That’d be nice…” Prompto admitted. As kind as these three had been with him, he already missed home.

“Better get moving, then, Noct,” Gladiolus said.

“Yeah, I get it already,” Noctis grumbled as he lowered himself a little lower. “Get on,” he said to Prompto.

The blonde’s bright blue eyes widened in surprise, before he nodded. “Thank you again, for everything,” he told them all once he was on Noctis’s back.

“Don’t mention it,” the dragon said as he slowly stood up on all four legs. “Press your legs against my neck to stay in place, alright?”

“Okay,” Prompto said, doing as he was told, and even hunkering down against the dragon’s neck.

Nodding, Noctis then unfolded his wings as he headed for the cavern’s exit. And as Ignis moved over and climbed on Gladiolus’ back, Noctis briefly rolled his shoulders, before he clapped his wings and took to the skies again.

Prompto clung to Noctis’s neck as the ebony-scaled dragon took flight, feeling a small thrill of excitement as he gazed around their surroundings. This was much better than when he was being carried there by Noctis’ sister, and he honestly felt he would miss this.

“…Hey.”

“Hm?”

“Wanna go a few rounds along the mountain before I get you home?” The tone of the dragon’s voice almost made it sound like he was smirking.

“Really? If you don’t mind, I’d love to,” Prompto smiled, excitement evident in his voice.

“Alright! Hold on then!” Noctis laughed, clapping his wings harshly and rising higher.

Prompto complied, lightly tightening his grip on the dragon’s neck, still looking around them in awe. The dragon chuckled as he then tilted sideways, gliding through the air in a large bend around the mountain.

“This is awesome…!” the blonde breathed, a quiet laugh of exhilaration escaping him.

“Haha! Get ready; gotta take a dive in a few moments!”

“Got it!” Prompto nodded, tightening his grip on Noctis again right before the dragon took his dive.

Noctis laughed as he dived under a rocky outcropping, before he rose back up to spiral around one of the spire like structures as he went up. Prompto laughed as well from the thrill of it all, and deep down, he didn’t want this to end.

“Well someone’s having fun!” Noctis teased with a laugh.

“Can’t blame me! I can’t fly like you!” Prompto pointed out.

 “True, true,” the dragon chuckled as he moved along the lap again.

Prompto grinned widely as he looked around at their surroundings, truly enjoying this.

Their enjoyment was cut short, however, when there was a loud roar from off to the side, giving Noctis pause as he almost spun out. “Wha?!”

“What the hell?!” Prompto yelped, clinging to the ebony dragon’s neck firmly as he looked around.

As he turned, Noctis quickly spotted another dragon, this one a dark, faded blue color with horns that arched in a circle behind its head. He appeared to be roughly the same size as Gladiolus, only the colors had faded gradually. Probably an older dragon.

“Cor?” Noctis asked in confusion, and a little bit of apprehension. “Is something wrong?”

“Your father wants to see you,” the dragon stated matter-of-factly.

“Ah, right… just give me a minute to—”

“The human as well.”

“…uh wait what???”

Prompto blinked, stunned. Why would _he_ be needed?

“Go. You don’t want to keep him waiting.”

“Right, right…” Noctis murmured, before he turned his head a bit to look to Prompto. “Sorry… looks like we need to take another detour.”

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?” the blonde asked.

“No…” Noctis admitted as he changed direction, heading toward Insomnia.

“I wonder what’s up, then…”

Noctis didn’t say anything in response as he flew up along the mountains, before he finally cleared the massive wall-like enclosure.

And the moment he did, Prompto’s jaw dropped in shock. Beyond the mountains rested an entire city made of polished black rock, adorned with hundreds of various gemstones, stretching out beyond the horizon with large buildings fit for a least a few hundred people, had they been made for men, but as it was the home of dragons, there was a good chance that number was much lower. Dragons were flying to and fro in even lines, almost like the cars traveling across the roads of Lucis, with several of them walking along the ‘streets’, or lounging in the far corners of the enclosure. The most prominent building, though, was the large tower-like structure in the very center of the ‘city’.

“Whoa…!” the blonde breathed in awe.

That made Noctis chuckle. “Welcome to Insomnia.”

“It’s beautiful… I never could have imagined it looking anything as amazing as this…” Prompto murmured.

“Most humans don’t… not many come here.”

“Fair enough…”

Noctis gradually descended down to the level where other dragons were flying, and rather than pass over them, he casually glided along the paths that everyone seemed to be following. And as he bobbed and weaved through ‘traffic’, Prompto realized they were edging closer and closer to the massive building in the center.

“Hey, Noctis? What is that tower, anyway?” Prompto inquired as they went.

“Hm? …Oh. That’s the Citadel. That’s where Lucis Caelum dragons live and govern over the others. …Though I think you know the line as the ‘Heirs of Bahamut’.”

“Wow… Wait, are you…one of them?” the blonde frowned curiously.

“Hm?”

“One of the Lucis Caelum dragons.”

“Why do you think I am?”

“If we’re heading there…”

“Hm… fair enough,” Noctis said casually. After several moments of silence, though… “But yeah.”

“Wait, really?! Dude, you could have told me in the first place!” Prompto yelped.

“What’s the point?” Noctis snorted. “I can do without everyone bowing at my talons, thank you very much.”

“…True, sorry…” the blonde mumbled apologetically.

Without saying anything more, Noctis finally broke from the crowd and headed over to the Citadel, dropping down to the ground by a gateway big enough for most dragons to pass through.

“Alright, we’re here.”

Carefully, Prompto slid off of Noctis’s back, and looked at his surroundings with wide, awed eyes.

“Don’t worry… Dad’s not that bad,” Noctis assured him, lightly nudging Prompto to his back with his claw to urge him to walk.

“…Is it safe to assume your dad is King, then?” Prompto asked as he went along.

“…’King’?” Noctis repeated, tilting his head.

“Or ruler, something along those lines?” Prompto corrected. “Considering it sounds like he has a lot of authority, and he lives here.”

“Ah. Is that what humans call it? …Well, I guess he is, then.”

“What would dragons call him, then? Just curious,” the blonde inquired.

“Alpha,” Noctis said as he walked along the hallway. “That’s it.”

“Huh. Well, I’m glad he’s nice. I just wonder why he wants to see me, too…”

“…I’m starting to get a suspicion…”

“What are you thinking?”

“…I’d rather not say anything just yet…”

“Hoo boy…

Noctis didn’t say anything else as they walked. At the end of the hall, though, they came to a door that, truthfully, seemed much too small for a dragon to fit in.

“Uh…are you gonna fit in there?” Prompto frowned, eyeing the door.

“Just get in, will ya?” Noctis chuckled as he nudged Prompto again.

“Okay, going…” the blonde mumbled, getting inside.

As he went in, Noctis moved back slightly, taking a deep breath, before he exhaled and, oddly enough, seemed to shrink in size. And Prompto jolted, startled, as he watched.

Noctis moved back onto his hind legs, shaking out his entire body as he flapped his wings, continuing to shrink, until, in the dragon’s place, stood a humanoid figure. However, instead of feet or hands, he had dragon-like talons and the majority of his body was covered in black scales, with the only areas being the color of ‘regular’ skin being his chest, neck and head, which was topped with black, tousled hair… with the exception of the fin-like ears and the horns that started just under his dark blue eyes and arched back in the same fashion as they had in dragon form.

Groaning briefly, the figure tilted his head from side to side for a moment, before he walked over casually, folding his wings across his shoulders. Once in the room with Prompto, he reached over and pressed a single button, at which point the door shut behind him.

Prompto watched Noctis for a few seconds, but soon turned his gaze to the floor, as he never had any inkling that dragons could turn into a ore human form. The dragon didn’t seem to notice as the room seemed to be moving upward. Rather than say anything he groaned as he stretched out his arms over his head, tail snapping out behind him a bit.

“…I didn’t know dragons could turn into a human form,” Prompto commented softly after a few seconds.

“Hm…? Oh… yeah, we can. Most of us just don’t do so often,” Noctis said with a shrug, arms behind his head.

“Makes sense…” the blonde nodded.

Finally, the room stopped with a small rumble, before the door opened again… and as it did, they both caught a very distant roaring. And this made Noctis flinch.

“Ah crap…!” he hissed.

“Who is that?!” Prompto asked in alarm.

“That’s Dad…” the dragon mumbled.

“Is he…mad?”

“Yyyyeaaah…”

“What?! But, you didn’t do anything wrong!” Prompto yelped.

“Not with me…” Noctis groaned. “…c’mon…” he mumbled, starting to walk, a bit anxiously, out of the room.

“Hoo boy…” Prompto sighed, following after.

As they walked, the roaring became more and more clear, and then Prompto realized what was going on.

“ _HAVE YOU GONE MAD, CHILD!? ATTACKING THE VILLAGE OF GALAHD LIKE THAT?! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!_ ”

That’s when it clicked that the attacks on his home village were never supposed to happen. Noctis’ sister had apparently taken it upon herself to unleash her rage with humans on Galahd, which honestly pissed him off himself.

“Please don’t…” Noctis suddenly murmured.

“Hm?”

“I… can’t say why, but… please don’t be mad at her… she… she does have a reason for being so angry.

“Still, to take it out on people who had _nothing_ to do with whatever happened is flat-out wrong…”

“I know… I know…” Noctis murmured.

“She needs to know that, in my opinion…” Prompto muttered bitterly.

“Just… please don’t… please?”

“…Fine…”

“Thank you…” Noctis sighed softly, as they stopped in front of the massive doorway. After a moment of waiting, listening to the roars from beyond the doorway, Noctis raised a hand and, without warning, slammed his fist down on the door. This caused the roaring to silence almost immediately, after which there came a call of “ _Enter!_ ”

Prompto couldn’t help but feel more than a little nervous after what they’d heard before, but he tried to keep relatively calm as the pair entered. The room was massive; big enough for a massive dragon to fit into for sure… which was exactly the first thing that caught Prompto’s attention when they stepped through the doorway proper.

The blonde’s bright blue eyes widened in shock and awe, and he nearly wanted to cower in fear, but he kept himself composed as he followed along with Noctis.

The dragon that was perched along the massive throne-like seat in the very back, which was embedded with the most bedazzling gems and surrounded by hundreds of shining coins, looked very similar to Noctis and Regina… only almost twice as big and powerful looking, and the horns had sharp prongs along the top sides of them, making them seem that much more dangerous.

As they stepped further in, Noctis kept his gaze on the dragon, before finally stopping and bowing his head in respect. Prompto copied him, albeit a bit hastily due to his nerves.

“ _Rise, both of you,_ ” the dragon said/snarled finally, and Noctis and Prompto both did just that. And as they did, Prompto spotted another humanoid-dragon off to the side, this one a little more feminine than Noctis, and her hair was slightly longer, hanging around her shoulders. It clicked to Prompto that this had to be Regina, but he only glanced at her briefly, both so he didn’t anger her and so he could focus on the dragon before him.

The dragon gave a small rumbling sound, which sounded almost thoughtful, as it moved to lean slightly more on the throne. “ _So… this is the human, hm?_ ” it asked.

“Yes, Father,” Noctis said without lifting his eyes to face the older dragon – his father.

Prompto looked at Noctis’ father, his nervousness clear to see on his face.

This didn’t go unnoticed by the dragon, as it seemed to smile at the human (or something that looked like it). It didn’t last long, though, as the dragon turned to Regina.

“ _Well?_ ” it demanded of her and she flinched sharply.

“…” She didn’t respond immediately, but she was grinding her teeth together visibly. “…I… I apologize…” she said slowly, forcing the words out.

“ _Do not apologize to me!_ ” the dragon roared, and she flinched back immediately. “ _Do it proper!_ ”

“…! ……” Regina looked like she was about to say something, but whatever it was, she bit it back. After a few long moments, she turned her head in the direction of Noctis and Prompto, once again grinding her teeth together.

Prompto waited patiently, watching her, and this clearly annoyed her to no end, but she said nothing of that. Instead, she, slowly, walked over, her fists clenched tightly and her wings trembling. And because of this, the blonde nearly flinched, but he managed to refrain from doing so.

Noctis watched his sister from under his eyelashes, as she stopped in front of them, keeping her head down so she wouldn’t have to look at either of them. It took her considerable effort to say what she was expected to say by their father, and it showed, but she forced it out anyway.

“…I… apologize…” she bit out. “What I did was… ir-irresponsible…”

At that, Prompto nearly yelled, but he kept some of his composure as he growled out: “You nearly killed me for something I have no idea about. I’d consider that more than irresponsible.”

Regina looked like she wanted to say something in response, probably something scathing, but a warning growl from the older dragon stopped that in its tracks, as she stepped back away. Noctis, though, looked at Prompto with a slightly pointed look.

The blonde sighed at the look, before adding: “But I accept your apology.”

Though she was clearly surprised at the words, Regina still looked less than pleased about the whole situation, but she nodded her head briefly, teeth still ground together.

“ _Better,_ ” the older dragon said finally. “ _However, the fact remains that you have violated the laws. Therefore, you are prohibited from leaving Insomnia until I can ascertain you have learned your place._ ” It paused briefly, maybe to see if Regina would react.

She didn’t… aside from the subtle tremble along her shoulders.

“ _Are we clear?_ ”

“…Yes, Father…”

“ _Good. Return to you cavern until Ignis and Gladio come to retrieve you._ ”

Regina nodded her head briefly, before she left, brushing past Noctis without a word said.

Once she was gone, Prompto heaved a sigh of relief. “If looks could kill, I’d have been dead in a heartbeat…” he muttered.

Noctis didn’t say anything, though he did glance at him curiously for a moment, before he turned to the other dragon. “Dad… wasn’t that a bit… harsh?”

The dragon sighed heavily as it moved back a bit. “ _Believe me, Noct, I wish I did not have to do this… but I’m afraid she forced my claw in this position._ ”

“If I’m not prying, why exactly does she hate all humans so much?” Prompto inquired curiously.

The large dragon didn’t reply immediately, but, after what felt like forever, the dragon sighed. “ _I wish I could speak of this, but I’m afraid this is something I cannot speak of without her permission. I apologize._ ”

“I understand,” Prompto murmured, before he smiled. “It’s a huge relief to know that Galahd’s not actually in danger from dragons after all, though. Other than Regina, you’ve all been very nice.”

The dragon chuckled. “ _I apologize for her behavior; she’s normally a very kind soul when you get to know her better._ ”

“…Then I’d like that chance, and to try and prove to her that not every human is bad,” the blonde said.

Noctis regarded him in slight surprise, while the older dragon laughed. “ _Interesting. I don’t think many humans would attempt to get to know someone who wished to end their life._ ”

“Well, why not? Even if it wasn’t completely sincere, she apologized, so I can’t hold it over her head anymore,” Prompto shrugged. “Besides, everyone deserves a second chance.”

Again, the dragon laughed, a little softer this time. “ _If that is your wish, then so be it. However, I would assume you would also wish for your friends and family to know that you are unharmed._ ”

 “I’ll be honest, I have no family. I’m on my own, and I only have a few friends, but I’m sure I’ll see them again,” the blonde admitted.

“ _Fair enough. However, perhaps you should at least pass by your home, at least,_ ” the dragon said, flicking its claw toward the blonde. “ _I can only assume that this is not your normal attire, after all._ ”

Blinking, Prompto glanced down, before he laughed a little. “No, it’s not,” he replied. “So, a quick stop at home is all I need before I’m good.”

“ _Very well. Noctis?_ ”

“Right,” Noctis said with a nod as he walked over to one of the massive windows in the room, which he slid open as he approached it. “Prompto, let’s go!”

“Sounds good,” the blonde grinned, joining him.

When he stood beside him, Noctis grinned. “Ready?”

“Definitely.”

“Good.” And then, without warning, Noctis shoved Prompto out the window.

“OH SHIT!!!” Prompto screamed as he fell. He had been anticipating Noctis turning into his full dragon form and carrying him again, not this!!

He didn’t fall for long, though, as Noctis leaped out after him, spinning around and shifting back into dragon form, flying down and catching Prompto on his back almost easily. “Gotcha~”

“Scare the living shit out of me, why don’t ya?” Prompto whined as he adjusted himself on Noctis’s back.

“Hahah! C’mon! Live a little! Freefalling is awesome!”

“Not when I normally have no way of preventing myself from smashing into the ground…” the blonde pointed out. “If I could fly, too, then I would find the joy in it.”

Noctis merely chuckled as he adjusted his flight, taking to the skies and heading toward the village of Galahd.

Prompto then hummed after a minute before speaking again. “It’s been the best part of most of my dreams, actually.”

“Dreams?” Noctis asked curiously as he cleared the wall-like mountain.

“Don’t you know what dreams are?”

“No. What are they?”

“They’re…basically like imagining things while you sleep, only your subconscious makes things happen, and you have no control. I usually dream about flying more often than not.”

“Really?” Noctis asked, sounding genuinely curious. “Do all humans dream of flying?”

“Not that I know of. Dreams can be amazing, pleasant, and fun, but sometimes they can be scary or depressing, too,” Prompto explained. “I used to have a lot of bad dreams after my parents died…”

“…Must have been bad… when they died,” Noctis murmured thoughtfully.

“It was… I was 16 when they were killed by the Empire…” Prompto mumbled. “It’s only been 4 years, but I had to watch as they were shot in the head each, since I was hiding.”

“…I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Not your fault, it just makes me hate the empire that much more,” the blonde sighed. “I just don’t understand why they even showed up in the first damn place.”

“I don’t know what it is they want…” Noctis admitted. “But, if they mean to cause harm, you can be sure we won’t allow this to continue.”

“Thank you,” Prompto smiled. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

Noctis chuckled as he flew on ahead. Prompto rolled his eyes slightly at the chuckle, but settled against the ebony dragon as he flew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, everyone, be honest; who thought it was Noct trying to eat Prom in the last chapter? XD


	5. Stopping at Home

Meanwhile, back in Galahd, Zack was sitting outside of his house, holding his head in his hands. “Six be damned…” he mumbled, over and over again.

“Zack?” Sora, his younger brother, called worriedly. “Do you wanna talk?”

“Not now, Sora…” Zack mumbled, as he ran his hands through his hair.

“It’s about Prompto, isn’t it…?” the brunette guessed, sitting beside him.

“…that obvious?” the taller brunette mumbled.

“You’ve been like this ever since the notice was posted, and even more so when everyone came home but him,” Sora pointed out with a sympathetic smile.

Zack sighed heavily. “All of this is just… messed up,” the man said. “Why did we have to sacrifice someone just… to have a little bit of peace of mind.”

“Zack… I know it’s messed up, but you never know, he might not be dead. He may still be alive,” his brother murmured. “I like to believe he still is, and that the dragons didn’t actually kill or even hurt him.”

“How can we be sure, though?” Zack pointed out.

Sora shrugged. “All we can do is have faith, and stay positive,” he smiled lightly.

His brother sighed, once again as he sat up and moved back against the wall of the house. “This sucks…”

“Come on, Zack, you can’t beat yourself up over this forever…” Sora told him, looking at his brother. “It’s not your fault. If there’s anyone to blame, blame the elder and the council for using that horrible idea.”

“Yeah, I gu—huh?!” Zack gasped as he suddenly bolted up to his feet. “What the!?”

“Huh?!” Sora yelped, looking the same way, and then his eyes widened in shock. “A dragon?!”

“Oh crap…! Then it didn’t work at all!?” Zack snarled.

“I don’t know!” Sora cried out.

“Dammit! Sora, get inside!!” Zack said as he ushered the younger boy inside, with all other villagers who had spotted the dragon doing the same.

As Sora went inside, however, he caught a glimpse of something golden yellow near the dragon’s neck. “Zack, I saw something yellow against the dragon’s neck!” he told his brother.

“What…?” Zack frowned as he looked up to the dragon as it came into range.

Now that he watched it, though, he realized it wasn’t actually roaring like the one that had he had seen before. So… was this a different one…?

 

“Okay, so… where can I land without smushing stuff?” Noctis asked as he looked around.

“You can over there, in the pasture,” Prompto said, pointing to his Garulas’ pasture.

“Okay.” Nodding, the dragon adjusted his angle, before he began his descent.

Prompto held on as they descended, waiting for the okay to climb off when Noctis landed.

It took only a moment for Noctis to touch down, the contact causing the ground to shake minutely. “Aaaand we have arrived.”

“Thanks, Noctis,” Prompto smiled as he slid off the dragon’s back.

“No problem,” Noctis said as he settled down a bit, almost lazily.

“Be back in a bit,” the blonde told him as he headed to his house.

The dragon merely nodded as he rested his head down on his front legs, humming a bit as he settled properly. Before Prompto could take even five steps towards his house, he heard a familiar pair of voices.

“Prompto!!” came the shout of a familiar, overly energetic brunette.

“Sora?!” the blonde yelped.

“Dude! You’re alive!” Zack said, his voice filled with relief as he and Sora reached the fence, with Sora immediately scampering over it.

“Yeah, well, I got lucky, I guess, and I have Noctis here to thank for that,” Prompto said, rubbing the back of his neck before gesturing to said dragon.

“Wait, really?!” Sora gasped. Noctis merely regarded the two of them quietly, before he hummed a little – and then he exhaled through his nose, the blast of air knocking Sora off his feet. “Wah!” the brunette yelped, before quickly getting back up. “Wow! So cool!” he grinned.

“Noctis protected me from the dragon that took me, and I found out that she shouldn’t have even taken me in the first place,” Prompto added.

“Seriously?” Zack asked as he cleared the fence and came over. “Then why did she…?”

“She’s angry with humans for something,” Prompto answered. “Not sure exactly what, but I’ll have to find out from her.”

“How are you gonna do that?” Sora questioned, pausing in his fawning over Noctis.

“I’m gonna stay in Insomnia, at least until I can show her that not all humans are bad,” the blonde smiled.

“You sure that’s a smart idea, Prom?” Zack asked worriedly. “I mean… what if she tries something again?”

“She won’t. She’s already in trouble for what she did,” Prompto assured him.

“Well… okay…”

“Zack, it’s fine. I’m just glad that there’s never been any issues between Insomnia and Galahd in the first place,” the blonde informed the brothers.

“That’s awesome!” Sora grinned.

“True, but…”

“…Oh right, speaking of,” Noctis suddenly said, startling Zack and Sora. “There’s one more thing we need to do before we leave.”

“What’s that?” Prompto asked, looking at him curiously.

As Noctis moved up again, he said: “Making sure something like this doesn’t happen again.”

“Good point,” Prompto nodded. “Mind if I get my clothes really quick? Then we can go see the elder.” Noctis nodded.

“Better idea; I’ll go get him,” Zack said, as he headed off.

“Oh, uh, thanks Zack!” Prompto called after him.

“So, what’s Insomnia like, Prompto?” Sora asked excitedly.

“It’s amazing, and massive,” the blonde smiled. “There’s a tower-like structure in the middle, called the Citadel, and just—everything looks beautiful.”

“Wow… I’d love to see it sometime,” the brunette murmured in awe.

“Maybe when things settle down with the Empire, hopefully things will be better,” Prompto told him.

“Hm… probably… not sure if it would be allowed either way, though…” Noctis pointed out.

“Still, it would be nice,” Prompto shrugged

Noctis merely hummed… before he looked over as Sora was running a finger along his front leg. “…Could you _not_?”

“Sora, don’t piss him off…” Prompto sighed.

“Sorry…” the brunette apologized.

Noctis chuckled softly, but he said nothing else as he, instead, turned to look into the village as, gradually, more and more people started coming out of their houses.

“I’ll be back, need to get my clothes,” Prompto said, hurrying into his house.

The dragon merely hummed as he settled down again, watching as people started approaching cautiously.

“So…” Sora began after Prompto had left, “how come Prompto wasn’t supposed to be taken in the first place?”

Noctis hummed briefly, curious. “…Ah. My sister was being… difficult.”

“Oh…” the brunette uttered, noticing from the tone that he shouldn’t pry.

As they waited, Noctis looked over, spotting one particular human approaching the fence.

It didn’t take long before Prompto emerged from his house again, a duffle bag slung over his shoulder, and wearing a fresh change of clothes. He then noticed Cindy approaching, and he grinned.

“Heya Cindy!” he called.

“Prompto!” Cindy cried out in relief as she moved over, immediately pulling the other blonde into a hug. “I’m so glad you’re alright!”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Prompto smiled. “But I’m not sticking around long, to be honest…”

“What? Why?!”

“Because I’m going back to Insomnia to help out with something there,” he told her. “I had to come home to get some clothes and stuff.”

This clearly shocked Cindy, and she looked over to the dragon, but Noctis didn’t bother to say anything about the matter just yet. Instead, he got himself a little more comfortable, watching as, in the distance, Zack and Cloud came over with the elder and council members.

“Don’t worry, Cindy, I’ll be fine,” he assured her. “Noctis and I just need to explain the situation to the elder and council, and then we’re heading back. Don’t know when I’ll be back, but we’ll see.”

As the elder and council approached, Noctis seemed less than impressed, solemnly curling his tail around his body, tip flicking at the air.

Prompto smiled reassuringly at Cindy, before going to stand by Noctis.

As Zack opened the fence so that the elder and council members could pass through, Cloud was watching the dragon in silence, seeming to size him up. This, of course, meant nothing to Noctis; he merely snorted softly, letting the blonde man know he was not impressed.

Prompto rolled his eyes a little at Cloud, before looking to the elder and council members.

While the elder seemed to be a mix of both worry and awe at the sight of the dragon, the council members seemed the most anxious out of everyone. Noctis already had a feeling from only that that the elder was probably not as much to blame as the council members were. His knowledge of humans wasn’t as good as his father’s was on the subject, but Ignis had, thankfully, informed him enough of the fact that most humans couldn’t properly hide their emotions and would show hints of what they were feeling one way or another. Whether it was the visible emotion on their faces or the smell of fear they exuded, there was always an easy way (for dragons) to know what it was humans were really thinking or feeling.

“Ah um… good… good day, Sir Dragon,” the elder said slowly, cautiously, obviously worried that he would somehow offend Noctis. “To… to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?”

Noctis wondered if he should try and scare the guy… but he was pretty that would go over very poorly with his father. Especially after what Regina had pulled.

“Save me the pleasantries,” the dragon said instead. “I do still have places to be, so I’d rather make this quick.”

Prompto sighed quietly, before he looked to Noctis, waiting for him to tell the elder and council members the information.

“I understand that there’s been a lot of people freaking out over the Empire’s invasion, and it has my kind just as riled up… but offering your own kind to appease our anger will not aid in fixing anything,” Noctis pointed out. “If anything, it’ll only make matters worse.

Prompto nodded once, confirming this.

“Doing such a thing… merely makes your own kind seem replaceable.”

The comment made the blonde pause, and he looked up at Noctis, before he nodded t the elder and council.

“A-ah… r-right… but… what else could we have done?” the elder asked, unsure.

Noctis hummed briefly, flicking his tail in thought. Of course, he’d thought about that as well, but there wasn’t much that he could think of that would be able to help. “Very little,” he admitted finally. “However, I would advise you to not do any such things again.”

Prompto adjusted his duffle bag on his shoulder, hoping the council and the elder knew better now.

“I… I see. I understand… but… what… what about…?”

“If you are fearful of my kin who came here prior, that matter has been resolved,” Noctis admitted. “They were particularly angry with humans in general after our last encounter with the Empire. They have already been reprimanded for their actions and shall not bother you again.”

Prompto nodded once more, affirming Noctis’s words.

Just then, there was a distant roar that made Noctis look up curiously. “…Ah, looks like we’re expected back.” As he finished that, he adjusted briefly and looked over to Prompto.

“I’m ready when you are,” the blonde smiled.

“Well, why are you still standing there, then?”

“Fair enough,” Prompto chuckled, climbing onto the ebony dragon’s back.

Once he was in place, Noctis stood up again, ignoring how everyone was watching him in worry, as he unfurled his wings. “I suggest you all stay back,” he pointed out, and this was enough for people to start moving back.

Prompto smiled as he held onto Noctis’s neck, ready for whatever happened.

Once everyone was out of the way, Noctis ducked down a little, lifting his wings, before he kicked off and clapped his wings powerfully, before taking off once again toward Insomnia.

And once they were part of the way there, Prompto commented: “That seemed to go over pretty well.”

“I’m glad it did, to be honest,” Noctis admitted. “I was getting ready for the worst…”

“You’d think they’d want to listen to a dragon, though,” Prompto pointed out.

“Humans have done strange things over the years… as my father claims…”

“I gotta admit he’s got a point, then,” the blonde admitted. “But still, considering how powerful you all are, I’d not want to piss a dragon off.”

“You’d think no one would…”

“Well, the Empire’s full of idiots, so they’re the exception,” Prompto snorted.

“Heh.”

After that, Prompto merely settled against Noctis’s neck as they continued back to Insomnia.


	6. The First Steps

Upon returning to Insomnia, Noctis made his way back to the Citadel where he once more landed by the entrance, letting Prompto get off once they were there.

“So, is it safe to say I’m staying with you?” Prompto asked, unsure once he’d climbed off.

“For now, yeah,” Noctis said as he shifted to his more humanoid form and walked inside with Prompto.

‘ _Thank Bahamut…_ ’ Prompto thought in relief. He was glad to be staying with somewhat familiar company, that way he didn’t have to worry too much.

As the stepped into the same room as before, Noctis pressed a different button and watched as the door fell shut again. Prompto waited patiently for them to reach the right floor, despite his tiredness. It had been a long day, and he was starting to feel drained.

“…you okay?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, just tired. Been a long day, ya know?” Prompto shrugged.

“…I guess you have a point, yeah.”

“Are you okay? After everything, I mean.”

“Me? Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Honestly, I know I was confident before about helping Regina to realize not all humans are bad, but I’m really hoping this works out…” Prompto admitted softly.

“I’m sure she’ll be able to see reason soon enough…” Noctis murmured. “She’s not THAT bad… usually…”

“‘Usually’ being the key word…” Prompto sighed. “But I’m optimistic.”

“Heh. Yeah…” the dragon murmured, as the room stopped and the door opened. “Alright,” Noctis murmured as they stepped out into the hallway.

“So, which one’s your room?” Prompto asked as he followed after Noctis.

“‘Room’?”

“The place you sleep, lounge, whatever, where you have time to yourself, I guess.”

“Oh! My cavern, you mean. This way,” Noctis said, gesturing down the hallway and walking ahead of the blonde.

Prompto followed with a small chuckle. “Geez, gonna have to get used to the differences in things between humans and dragons, huh?” he remarked.

“Definitely.”

“Maybe Ignis can help with that…” Prompto murmured. “Speaking of which, how come Ignis lives here if he’s human?”

“Well, we sometimes have humans who actually offer us their services and knowledge from time to time,” Noctis explained. “Ignis’ family is one of the earliest ones to have lived here with us in Insomnia.”

“Really? That’s cool,” Prompto smiled. “Well, hopefully I’ll be at least somewhat useful in comparison.”

Noctis merely chuckled as he walked up to a large door, pushing it open.

The inside of the room was huge, with enough space for Noctis to move around in full dragon form if he so wished, but given the amount of various shiny trinkets scattered around the room and desks, in cupboards, and along the wall, he didn’t often do that anyway. There was one large “nest” off to the back, covered with what looked like straw and feathers, as well as several animal furs that were tossed over the sides haphazardly.

“You’ve collected a lot of nice things, haven’t you?” Prompto guessed as he looked at the trinkets.

“So?” Noctis mumbled, shrugging. “They’re nice and shiny.”

“I didn’t mean anything bad by it,” Prompto assured him. “I just meant that you’re lucky to have such nice things. I don’t.”

“…? Nothing?”

“No, nothing but the essentials,” the blonde answered. “Didn’t exactly have much in funds to have nice things…”

“…Ah…” Noctis murmured.

Suddenly, a yawn escaped Prompto, and he chuckled tiredly. “Damn, I need sleep…”

“Yeah? Well, go ahead and get some rest,” the dragon said, gesturing for the nest.

“Aren’t you tired, too?” Prompto frowned slightly. “After all, you flew a lot today…”

“In a bit. I need to check in with my dad, first.

“All right… I’ll see you in a bit, then,” Prompto nodded, moving towards the nest.

Noctis nodded as he headed back out of the room.

Once he was gone, Prompto set down his duffle bag and pulled out a pair of pajama pants and an old t-shirt, changing out of his current clothes into the night clothes before clambering into the nest, and somehow managing to get comfortable under one of the animal skins. Definitely different compared to his bed back home, but he would have to get used to it.

 

When morning dawned the following morning, Prompto was more than a little disoriented. Which was logical, since he’d just woken up in a completely new environment. But once he realized where he was again, he relaxed somewhat, rolling on his other side to get away from the light filtering in his eyes…

…and bumped straight into Noctis.

“…!” Prompto nearly yelped at the contact, but he managed to tone it down to a muffled gasp. His bright blue eyes were wide, but he soon relaxed as he scooted back and closed his eyes again.

Noctis snorted a bit, but didn’t wake, though he did grumble a bit as he curled a little more into his nest. Prompto curled up under the animal skin a little further, sighing tiredly. Hopefully he could get some more sleep…

He might’ve dozed off afterward, as the next thing he knew was that he was awakened again with a firm knocking coming from the direction of the doorway. The sound had Noctis grunting a bit, turning until he could press his face into one of the furs firmly, growling.

Prompto groaned quietly, grumbling into the nest before he sat up with a yawn. And just as he did, the door was pushed open and Ignis walked in. “Good morning,” he said with a nod.

“Morning, Ignis,” Prompto yawned.

Nodding, Ignis then looked toward Noctis… who was still fast asleep. “New day, same routine,” he said with a sigh.

“I take it he’s not easy to wake up, huh?” Prompto guessed.

“Quite. Feel free to give it a shot if you wish. Just watch the tail.”

“Any tips besides that?”

“Just one; don’t expect words alone to be enough.”

“Oh. Great…” the blonde groaned. Last thing he needed was for Noctis to be grumpy because he woke the dragon up. Moving himself so he was kneeling in the nest, Prompto tried shaking Noctis awake. “Noctis, it’s morning. Time to get up,” he said as he shook him.

“…mrrr…” the dragon groaned, shaking his shoulder away from Prompto as he curled up further into the nest, tail curling along the fur beneath him.

Prompto sighed, before poking and prodding at the dragon. Another growl escaped the dragon, as he rolled over -- with his tail snapping out briefly in Prompto’s direction.

“Geez, you hate mornings, huh?” Prompto muttered, before he tried one last thing: tickling him. He wriggled his fingers along Noctis’s sides, keeping an eye on that tail.

“…nnnnrrrrrr…” the dragon growled, as he actually seemed to relax under the touch rather than it agitating him.

“Dammit…” the blonde groaned, before looking at Ignis. “That’s all I’ve got, besides yelling in his ear. And I’d rather not piss him off like that. Or at all, for that matter.”

Ignis chuckled softly. “In that case, come over here,” he said, gesturing for Prompto to come over. Prompto climbed out of the nest, before padding over to Ignis. And once he was there, Ignis handed him what looked to be some sort of blue orb. “Go ahead and throw this. Try to aim for his head.”

“Uh, okay? What is it?” the smaller male asked as he took aim.

“You’ll see.”

“O…kay?” Prompto uttered, before hurling it for Noctis’s head.

And the moment it hit, it burst apart with a splash, and Noctis gasped in surprise as he perked up almost immediately, water dripping from his hair and down his horns. “…buh…?”

“Morning, Noct,” Ignis said simply.

“…nnn…” Noctis groaned a bit, before he yawned widely, showing off his sharp teeth. “Mmm… morning…”

“Seriously? It took water to wake you up?” Prompto snorted in disbelief.

Noctis merely hummed as he put down his hands -- right before he shook himself dry rapidly, sending water flying everywhere. Which had Prompto yelping a little as he got sprayed, shielding his face with his hands.

“Finally awake, then?” Ignis asked as Noctis stood up.

“Mm… ‘s good as,” Noctis grunted, rubbing the back of his head.

“Thanks for the help, Ignis,” Prompto told the sandy blonde.

“You’re welcome,” Ignis said with a chuckle, before he turned serious. “Noct, if you don’t mind… Regina is being difficult again.”

“Wha… again?” Noctis groaned. “Dammit, okay…”

“Probably because of yesterday, huh?” Prompto guessed.

“Undoubtedly… though it seems worse than normal…”

Noctis sighed softly. “…Hey, Iggy? You guys didn’t…”

“I can assure you, we had no intention of actually informing your father,” Ignis said, surprising Noctis. “However, it was the only way to make her listen to reason.”

“…but then how did…?”

“That, I am unsure of. But I believe he may have heard through other sources.”

“…guess that makes sense.”

“Geez, she’s gonna be pissed off for a while, then, huh?” the blonde murmured.

“Most likely, yes… and even more so when she finds out you are still here,” Ignis pointed out.

“Damn, this is gonna make my job even more difficult…”

“Definitely…” Noctis murmured, before he headed for the door.

“Ah, I need to change first,” Prompto said, moving to his duffle bag.

“…? Why?” Noctis asked curiously, making Ignis chuckle.

“Humans need to change clothes regularly, Noct.”

“…Why?”

“Because, Noct, unlike dragons, we do not have scales to protect us.”

“…so use one set of clothes.”

“After a while, they start to smell, Noctis,” Prompto explained with a small laugh as he fished out a clean set of clothes for the day. Noctis cocked his head curiously, while Ignis chuckled softly.

Once Prompto had pulled out some clothes for the day, he looked at the pair a bit shyly. “Um… Mind waiting outside for me? I’ll be quick.”

“Huh?” Noctis blinked, only to yelp as Ignis grabbed his tail and dragged him out. “Iggyyyy!!”

“Now, now, let’s give the boy some space.”

Prompto laughed at how Ignis dragged the dragon out of the room, before beginning to get changed once the door had shut. And once he was fully dressed, including his boots, he stepped outside. “Thanks, Ignis.”

“Quite welcome,” Ignis said calmly.

“…why was that even necessary?” Noctis asked immediately.

“Eh… I’d rather not be fully exposed…around others…” Prompto mumbled, blushing.

Noctis was, clearly, confused about those words, but Ignis lightly rapped his knuckles to the dragonling’s temple, startling him. “Later, Noct.”

“Darnit…”

“So, I should probably wait for you guys while you get Regina up, huh?” Prompto guessed.

“Actually, you’ll be coming ahead with me,” Ignis pointed out. “Regina is… less than fond of me.”

“Because you’re human, huh?” Prompto guessed.

“Exactly.”

“Gotcha,” the blonde nodded. Looking to Noctis, he said, “Good luck, I guess…”

“Thanks… I’ll probably need it…”

“Let us go, Prompto.”

“Right,” Prompto nodded, before following after Ignis.

 

As Ignis continued working on breakfast in what was essentially a dining room of some kind, though there were no tables and only plush pillows serving as seats, the rest of Insomnia was starting to come alive outside, roars echoing through the sky as more and more dragons began to fly around. As Prompto sat himself down nearby Ignis, watching him as he cooked.

“I thought that dragons typically hunted?” he finally said after a couple of minutes.

“With the number of dragons that live in Insomnia, if they did, there would be no other creatures in Lucis within a year,” Ignis chuckled.

“Fair enough,” Prompto conceded, thinking about his Garula herd. “So, what are you making, anyway?”

“Green curry soup,” Ignis said.

“Nice, I love spice,” Prompto smiled. “Can I help at all? I may not be a great cook, but I’ve cooked my own meals at home.”

“It’s fine… might be best if you don’t. Regina might not like me, but she accepts my cooking. I doubt she’d accept yours.”

“Damn… That’s too bad…” Prompto sighed.

“Perhaps when she gets more used to you…”

“Whenever _that_ is…” Prompto muttered. “I have a bad feeling she’s gonna like me better dead.”

“That might be the way of things for a while, yes…”

“Dammit…” the blonde groaned, dropping his head into his hands.

Just then, he caught the sound of claws clicking against the ground moving closer. And when he looked up, it was in time to see Noctis walking in, followed shortly by Regina, though she kept her eyes aimed down at the ground as she walked. For the moment, Prompto kept quiet, not wanting to piss her off any more too soon.

Noctis looked over to Prompto briefly, and looked around the room then, thinking, before he reached for his sister’s claw, tugging her along. She didn’t object and let him drag her along to take a seat, still not looking up, even as he tugged her down to sit opposite of Prompto.

Prompto blinked, startled, before looking at Noctis in silent question. Rather than say anything, Noctis shook his head briefly, before looking over to Ignis. “Hey, almost done, Iggy?”

“Almost, Noct.”

Prompto still didn’t say anything, uncertain. After a few moments of just sitting there, Noctis took a deep breath and exhaled softly. “Hey, um… Regina?”

“…mm?”

“Well… um… just… are you okay with… yanno…?”

“…define ‘okay’…”

Prompto bit his lip nervously and Noctis obviously noticed, as he glanced over worriedly, before he turned back to his sister.

“Actually… um… Dad said that… well, you’re allowed out the Citadel…”

“…’but’?”

“Um… yeah, uh… he said we have to go with you when you do.”

At that, Regina finally lifted her head to look up. “…’we’?” she snarled softly.

Noctis was clearly trying not to flinch away as he continued to keep his eyes on his sister, before he slowly lifted a claw and pointed toward Prompto. And as soon as she looked over, her expression darkened dangerously and her mouth twisted into a vicious snarl.

However, the blonde couldn’t help but flinch, before he looked at her firmly. “I told your father everyone deserves a second chance, and I want to show you that not all humans are bad…” he told her in a soft yet firm voice.

Regina looked like she was about to react very violently and even looked ready to leap up and lunge for him – but then she froze as her gaze went over Prompto’s head. The human didn’t have the time to reply to this or wonder what was wrong with her, though, as a firm voice called out from behind him.

“That is enough, Regina.”

Prompto looked behind himself to see the Alpha (easily recognizable despite the change in appearance), and he became immensely relieved at the sight of him. Maybe Regina might listen a bit better now.

Unlike the first time he had seen him, the dragon had also shifted back to his more human form, and while it would’ve been almost impossible to tell otherwise, the horns that were a similar style to both Noctis and Regina gave him away. He was definitely much older than either of the two dragons, with his black hair having a few grey lines going through it, and the beard he had only added to the look that he was old, and probably just as wise. Still, he did look a bit like Noctis… aside from the beard (he wasn’t even aware dragons could even _grow_ beards).

“I expect you to treat our guest with respect, understood?” the Alpha said firmly as he stepped over as well.

“…y… yes, Father…” Regina bit out, clearly resisting the urge to snarl angrily.

Prompto smiled in greeting at the older dragon, before speaking. “Good morning, sir.”

This made the dragon chuckle softly as he permitted a small smile. “Just call me Regis… Prompto, was it?”

“Yes, that’s right,” Prompto nodded.

Regis nodded back calmly, before he took a seat at what Prompto assumed to be the “head” of their makeshift table. Which was when Ignis came over, carrying a tray with four bowls of the green curry soup he said he’d been making, setting it down in front of them. One of the four was just slightly larger than the others, signaling that one was likely for Regis as Alpha.

“Thank you, Ignis,” the blonde smiled politely as he was served.

The sandy-blonde hummed as he stepped back, as Regis took the largest bowl, after which Noctis grabbed one of the remaining ones. Regina was, obviously, still not pleased with Ignis, if the look she threw him was any indicator, but she did take a bowl of her own anyway.

Once Prompto took his, which was the only bowl that had a spoon in it, he gave a pleased hum at the aroma from the soup, before he began to eat. “This is really good,” he murmured after swallowing. “Better than when my parents used to make it.”

Noctis looked at him curiously from over the edge of his bowl of soup. “Your parents also cooked?” he asked, which made Ignis chuckle.

“Most humans do, Noct.”

“Really?”

“I cook, too, but not nearly as good as this,” Prompto laughed lightly, which had clearly made Noctis more than a little curious. Regina, however, merely growled softly. Ignoring the growl, Prompto decided to continue talking, bringing up something he’d already mentioned to Noctis, but not to anyone else there. “It was mainly after my parents were killed by the Empire that I really had to teach myself,” the blonde admitted.

Noctis hummed softly around the edge of his bowl, showing his understanding. From the corner of his eye, Prompto caught Regina glancing over a bit, but as he was about to glance over, she shut her eyes again and tilted her head back to finish her soup.

“Your parents fell victim to the Empire, too?” Regis asked, lowering his own bowl momentarily.

“Yeah… I had to watch in hiding as they were shot in the head…” Prompto mumbled sadly.

Regis watched him with a small, sad frown, sighing softly. “I’m sorry for your loss, Prompto,” he said.

“Thank you… It’s been a few years since then, but I still miss them. Even if they adopted me, I still think of them as my real parents,” Prompto replied.

“…’adopted’?” Noctis asked as he lowered his own soup bowl.

“They weren’t actually my parents,” the blonde explained. “They told me they found me, abandoned, with no one anywhere nearby, so they took me in and raised me as their own.”

“…? Why raise a young that’s not your own?” Noctis asked, which prompted a chuckle from Regis.

“That’s just how some humans are, Noct; they simply do not care for lack of blood.”

“…humans are so weird…”

“Well, I wouldn’t be here today if they hadn’t,” Prompto pointed out.

“…dragon young just have to take care of themselves,” Noctis pointed out.

“Yes, and perhaps it’s time that changes, soon,” Regis said with a smile.

“I was just a baby, Noctis. There was no way I would have lived on my own at that age,” the blonde explained, hoping he could talk the younger dragon into accepting that fact.

Noctis tilted his head, but he shrugged a bit, deciding not to argue for the moment. As Prompto resumed his meal, he briefly glanced at Regina, having a feeling she had gone through something traumatic with the Empire, too, if her glance when he mentioned how his parents were killed was any indicator.

Once everyone had finished, Regina got up and headed off.

“Regina,” Regis said, making the younger dragon stop in her tracks. “You are not leaving without Noctis and Prompto. Clear?”

“…yes, Father…”

Getting to his feet after downing the rest of his soup, Prompto looked to her. “Was there somewhere in particular you wanted to go…?” he asked politely.

“…”

When Regina didn’t answer, Noctis sighed and got up. “We’ll be back later, Dad.”

“Hmhmm. Watch yourselves.”

“Will do,” Noctis assured as he hurried after Regina, tugging Prompto after him.

The blonde was a bit startled, but he soon fell into step with the dragon, wondering where Regina wanted to go.

When they reached one of the large windows, Regina didn’t even bother to say anything as she leaped out silently. “Hoo boy…” Noctis mumbled, turning to Prompto. “Ready to jump?”

“Don’t have much of a choice, but sure,” Prompto shrugged.

“Okay, one, two, three… go!” he called out, before he grabbed Prompto’s hand and leaped out.

Prompto yelped at the suddenness of it, and he went numb as his feet left the ground, his stomach feeling like it was about to go into his throat. As the fell, Noctis flapped his wings once, flying lower as he shifted into dragon form, once again catching the human on his back.

“Geez… You guys really like free-falling, don’t you?” Prompto sighed once he was settled on Noctis’s back once again.

“C’mon, it’s not THAT bad,” Noctis chuckled as he flew after his sister, who had gone on ahead of them.

“Remember, I can’t fly like you can, so you can’t blame me for panicking when I’m falling…” Prompto pouted. “Imagine if you didn’t have your wings and you fell from high up, with nothing to stop you from hitting the ground. It’s scary!”

“I guess…” Noctis admitted.

“So that’s my perspective on it,” the blonde said. “Anyway… Where are we going?”

“Good question… I’m not sure… she might just be going for a flight around Insomnia…”

“Nowhere in particular? Doesn’t seem like her, from what I could tell… To me, she doesn’t seem like one to just wander,” Prompto murmured.

“Well she’s not allowed to leave Insomnia, so… yeah…”

“Even then…”

“I honestly don’t know… as long as she doesn’t leave, she can go wherever she pleases…” Noctis said with a small sigh as he continued to follow after Regina, who was still ignoring them.

As they flew, they passed by several other dragons, each of various colorations, and even seeming to be different types. There were those with four limbs and two legs, like Noctis and his family, but there were also those with only hind legs and wings, and there were even a few going around with multiple pairs of wings. However, as Prompto looked around more, something began to nag at his mind. And after a little bit more of looking around he noticed something; there were no white dragons to be seen anywhere.

“Hey, Noctis?” Prompto said. “How come there aren’t any white dragons?”

“Hm? …Oh, that’s because… there aren’t any left,” Noctis said, a hint of anger lining his voice.

“The Empire, right?” Prompto guessed.

“Yeah… there used to be a lot of them… but they were wanderers… and often left Insomnia… and one day they just… never came back.”

“That’s horrible…” the blonde murmured sadly.

“Some think they’re still out there… hiding… but no one knows why they haven’t instead come home.”

“I’m sure they will someday… Maybe once this war is over,” Prompto said.

“Yeah, hopefully.”

As silence fell once more, the blonde looked ahead to try and figure out where Regina might be going… to no avail. Then again, he wasn’t too familiar with Insomnia just yet.

 

The other dragon continued flying with no definite destination for what felt like hours – and maybe she did – before she finally dipped down toward the ground again. Noctis sighed as he began his own descent. “Looks like she’s going to the springs.”

“You have hot springs here?” Prompto blinked, pleasantly surprised.

“Yeah, we do.”

“That’s awesome! I’ve never been in one. Only ever heard about them,” the blonde grinned.

Noctis laughed softly as he touched down on the ground, and as he followed after Regina whilst she padded along the ground further along a beaten path, Prompto slid off of the ebony dragon’s back, becoming excited to get to the hot springs.

It took them a little bit of walking before they finally reached the hot springs as both dragons shifted to their more humanoid form. There were already several other dragons present in the many, _many_ hot springs, and the air around them was thick with the light, but heated haze of the springs. Regina immediately went straight for the back, uncaring of the few people that watched her go, and Noctis, similarly, didn’t seem to care as he followed after.

Prompto, however, hesitated, as he didn’t want to get his clothes soaked. He’d probably have to strip to his boxers at this rate…

“Prompto, don’t fall behind, c’mon,” Noctis called out.

“Coming!” Prompto called back, before hurrying after.

Finally, they reached an isolated spring, completely empty of any other dragons, and Regina stepped in with no hesitation, moving toward one of the far corners of the spring.

When Prompto saw how they stepped in without hesitation, he inwardly sighed as he paused, unsure.

Noctis waited with stepping in and watched Prompto. “What’s wrong?”

“Um, I don’t want to get my clothes soaked, or I’ll freeze when we’re flying back…” the blonde mumbled.

“…So take them off, then,” was Noct’s obvious answer.

“O-okay…” Prompto sighed, before stripping down to his boxers and stepping in.

The water was warm, and it almost made him pull back, before he stepped in a little slower, letting the water warm his skin gradually. Once he was in, Noctis stepped in as well, ducking down until he could rest his wings on top of the water, but not under it.

“This is nice…” the blonde murmured.

“Hmhmm…” Noctis hummed a bit, before he briefly ducked his head under, popping back out and shaking the hair from his eyes.

Prompto gave a pleased hum, sinking further into the water until his nose was just above the water level.

“…hey Prompto?” Noctis called out suddenly, moving over in the water. “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, what?” the blonde asked, sitting up a little bit.

“Iggy said humans have set genders. That true?”

Prompto blinked, startled, as his cheeks began to burn. “Um…yeah, why?” he answered.

“Well… how do you tell the difference?”

Immediately, the blonde’s bright blue eyes widened, before he mumbled: “I really don’t think I can answer that without feeling awkward as hell…”

“…? Why??”

“Geez, why are you even asking _me_??” Prompto whined.

“Because Iggy’s explanation was boring.”

“What was his explanation?”

“‘They just do’.”

“I could tell you the same thing, then,” Prompto replied. “How come you wanna know, anyway?”

“Cuz I’m curious.”

“I really don’t wanna explain that, Noctis, sorry…” Prompto muttered, lowering himself in the water again. He really hoped the flush on his face was from the heat of the water this time, not from the question.

When he looked over, though, he noticed that Noctis pouted, but he didn’t ask again. This, in turn, actually had Prompto feeling bad.

“…Do you have any _other_ questions about humans?” the blonde asked after a minute,

“…yeah, actually… Do… humans mate for life?” Noctis asked after a moment of thought.

“No, not all of them…” Prompto sighed. “My parents were together ever since they’d met, but there are some former couples in the village that split up and found happiness with someone else.”

“…why do they do that?”

“Split up? Because sometimes they realize that the person they got with originally just isn’t good for them, or they just become unhappy in their relationship,” Prompto murmured, before smiling fondly. “I mainly remember watching my parents while growing up and thinking I’d love to find someone I’m happy with and who I can make happy, too.”

“Hm… Yeah… that’d be nice.”

After a few minutes of quiet, Prompto asked: “Noctis? How come you were so curious about the gender thing with humans?”

“Huh? Oh… well, dragons don’t have genders,” Noctis said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Wait, really?” Prompto frowned. “But…how’s that even possible? Especially when it comes to repopulating…”

“We can all lay legs… though we do need a mate to… I think Iggy said the word was ‘incubate’ the eggs before they’re ready to hatch.”

“Huh… That’s interesting,” Prompto murmured.

“You think? It’s normal for us,” Noctis pointed out.

“Well, for humans, only women can become pregnant, so only they can have children,” the blonde told him.

“Oooooh! So they’re the ones incubating and laying the eggs?”

“No eggs involved, Noctis,” Prompto chuckled. “Incubating, sort of, but they don’t lay. Women give live birth instead.”

“Wha…? Then how do the young stay protected?”

“They develop inside the mom.”

“…for the whole period?”

“For nine months, yeah.”

“…That’s a long time.”

“Well, a baby’s development can’t really be rushed. Otherwise it might come out sick or too weak to survive,” Prompto explained.

“…I guess that makes sense, yeah.”

“How long does it take for dragon eggs to hatch?”

“Incubation takes about 2 weeks, then, ones the eggs have been laid, it’ll take around 3 months for them to hatch.”

“Definitely less time than humans, then,” Prompto chuckled, before his expression became pensive as he looked up at the sky. “…My parents actually couldn’t have kids of their own, to be honest.”

“Huh? How come??”

“My mom was infertile, so she couldn’t conceive,” the blonde murmured. “When they found me, they considered me a blessing, since they couldn’t have their own child. That’s what they told me when I once asked about a brother or sister.”

“Oh, I see…”

Prompto looked at Noctis as he adjusted himself in the water. “You would have liked my parents. They were good people. We even had a shrine where we honored Bahamut together every week, mainly to give our thanks for anything good that had happened that week. I kept up the tradition after they were killed, even though it was difficult in the beginning.”

“Really?” Noctis asked with wide eyes. “That sounds so neat.”

“It is,” the blonde smiled. “And during the harvesting times, we’d even leave a piece of dragon fruit at the shrine, too.”

“Nice,” Noctis smiled – just before there was a splash of water that washed over them both, making them yelp in surprise.

“Could you shut up?” Regina grumbled, sounding very annoyed from her edge of the hot spring, where she was silently leaning on the edge.

“Nothing wrong with conversation, ya know,” Prompto replied. “It makes things pleasant.”

“I don’t care for ‘pleasantries’ with _humans_ …” the other dragon snarled softly.

“And? I honestly could care less. Your hatred of humans in general, when it was _clearly_ the Empire who wronged you, honestly confuses the hell out of me,” Prompto huffed. “If I knew what happened, I’d be more considerate.”

Noctis looked like he wanted to say something, but Regina merely snarled and snapped out her tail at the water again. “Who gives a hoot?! All you humans are the same, anyway! All you ever care about is yourselves!”

“And I’ve shown that, how?” Prompto retorted. “Not everyone is the same. Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

Regina glared at him briefly, before she growled darkly and then ducked under water.

“…dammit…” Noctis mumbled.

“What?”

“I was hoping she’d at least _try_ …”

“I can be stubborn, too, Noctis. I’m not giving up so easily.”

“If you’re sure…”

“Oh, I’m sure,” the blonde smiled.

Noctis smiled a bit, just as Regina came back up – and climbed out almost immediately. “He-hey! Regina!” Noctis called out as the other dragon stepped out entirely.

Prompto rolled his eyes a little, before calling out, “You gotta wait for us!”

Regina didn’t seem to care one bit, which made Noctis growl as he climbed up to his feet. “C’mon, we gotta move!”

“Coming,” Prompto sighed, climbing out as well and scooping up his clothes in the process.

Once he was out, Noctis grabbed Prompto’s clothes and quickly passed them over to the blonde.

The human managed to get his shirt on as they followed, thinking quickly to try and get Regina to at least slow down. “You’re acting like a child!” he yelled after her. “Stop being bratty and wait for us, or else Regis is gonna know!”

Thankfully, that seemed to help, as Regina froze mid-step.

This, in turn, made Noctis breathe out slightly in relief.

Prompto nodded once, firmly, in satisfaction, before he pulled his pants back on over his by-now damp boxers, and then he and Noctis caught up to her. “Geez, you’re stubborn…” he muttered.

“…”

Regina didn’t say anything, but once they had caught up, she snarled and shifted back into dragon form. Noctis didn’t waste any time this time as he, also shifted back and Prompto was quick to climb onto the ebony dragon’s back, holding onto his neck as the dragon took flight after his sister.

As Regina flew, it became clear very quickly that she was heading back for the Citadel. “Guess she’s had enough for the day…”

“More like enough of me,” Prompto snorted.

“Well… I guess…”

“I just don’t understand why she feels she has to be so angry,” the blonde grumbled.

Noctis didn’t reply to that, but the small sigh he gave said that he was perfectly aware of his sister’s reasoning for her anger.

“I know you won’t tell me, Noctis…” Prompto sighed. “Sorry for venting on you, it’s just making things tougher if she won’t tell me. Even in an outburst.”

The dragon nodded softly. “I wish I could tell you… but I know she’d kill me if she knew I went behind her back and told anyone…” Noctis murmured. “Cuz this… this is something _no one_ else knows yet… just me, Dad, Ignis and Gladio know… that’s it…”

“Really? You know, I’m not someone to spread something like that easily…” the blonde told him softly. “But if it’s something that serious, I guess I’ll have to somehow find out myself…”

“Better… and even if you don’t go spreading this… it’s… it’s just something that needs to be told by the one going through it…”

“That bad, huh?” Prompto guessed quietly, before looking at Regina as she flew ahead. ‘ _What happened to cause you so much anger, hatred, and pain?_ ’


	7. Break Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In order for time to pass, you need to do something.

Finally, they arrived back at the Citadel, but instead of landing, Regina adjusted mid-flight and then shifted mid descent to enter the building through one of the windows, disappearing inside.

“Uh… yeah, might not be smart to copy that for now…” Noctis mumbled.

“Kinda hard to with me, right?” Prompto said.

“Kinda…” Noctis admitted, as he instead did a loop around the Citadel to land by the ground entrance.

“No worries,” the blonde shrugged before dismounting once they’d landed.

As Noctis shifted back, he briefly shook his hair from his eyes as they headed inside.

“So, besides free-falling and the hot springs, what do you all do for fun?” Prompto asked as they walked.

“Um… not much, really…” Noctis admitted. “Iggy’s introduced us to these… what do you call ‘em? ‘Boat games’??”

“Oh, board games? Yeah, I would usually play those on rainy days with friends or my parents,” Prompto smiled. “Mind showing me the ones you guys have?

“Yeah, sure… I think I stashed a few in my cavern for when Ama--!!” Suddenly, Noctis slapped both his claws over his mouth to stop whatever he was about to say.

“What?”

“Nothing!” Noctis rushed out. “Nothing just…! Forget I said that… A-anyway… c’mon, let’s go up,” he mumbled quickly as he hurried ahead.

“Noctis, wait up!” Prompto yelped. Once they got to his cavern, he asked: “What were you about to say back there? I won’t say anything, you know that…”

“…I can’t say,” the dragon said, and a small, sad frown came over him just then. “…Regina would kill me…”

Prompto sighed heavily, before shaking his head. “Maybe you or Regis should try and convince her to talk to me about it… It’ll make things a lot easier in the long run…”

“…” Noctis looked over to Prompto for a moment, before he sighed. “I’ll ask Dad about it… but I can’t promise anything.

“I know, but it’s worth a shot…”

“Yeah, I know,” Noctis murmured, as he began to look around the room. “Okay… where did I…?”

“Not a clue, man,” the blonde chuckled. “It’s your cavern.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t start…” the dragon mumbled as he moved to all fours and began to easily pad along the floor, looking under some of the cabinets, humming as he went.

Prompto laughed lightly at the words, merely watching him as he went.

“…Ah!” Noctis called out, suddenly ducking under a cupboard with his entire upper body.

“Find ‘em?”

“Yeah!” After a little bit of scrabbling, Noctis came back out, pulling out a bunch of boxes.

“Nice,” Prompto chuckled, going over and looking at the boxes.

Once he had them all on a stack, Noctis walked over to the nearest table and began to set them up. “There we go…”

“Wow, you have quite the collection, huh?” the blonde commented as he looked through the games.

“Most of these are from Iggy… I haven’t really played most of them, so I’d have to ask him to explain…”

“Well, depending on the game, I should be able to explain some of these, too,” Prompto told him.

“Oh, okay… …well… which is easy enough?”

“This one should be easy enough to play,” Prompto murmured, reaching over and grabbing one that he remembered from his childhood: Wyrms and Ladders.

Noctis tilted his head as he plopped down. “Okay… so how does that work?”

“Easy enough,” Prompto smiled. “Basically, you start from the bottom left on the board, and move to the right, then up one space, then all the way to the left. You end up going back and forth, and if you land on the top of a wyrm, you have to go down to the space its tail indicates, moving you back. If you land on the bottom of a ladder, you get to go up to the indicated space, advancing you forward. And once you get to the end, which is the top right, you win.”

“…Oh, okay… yeah… sounds easy enough…”

“Yep!” Prompto nodded with a chuckle. “Let’s get it set up.”

“Okay,” the dragon agreed, putting the other boxes away to set up the game.

Once they had the space required, Prompto took charge of setting it up, which didn’t take long, fortunately. Then again, it was a simple game.

“All right, choose your color of piece,” he told Noctis, snagging up the yellow piece.

And Noctis, obviously grabbed the black one.

“All right, I’ll let you roll first, okay?” Prompto smiled, handing the dragon the two dice.

“Okay,” Noctis said, looking at the dice curiously.

“Go ahead and roll them. I’ll help you read the numbers,” Prompto told him.

“Kay…” As Noctis tossed the dice, he watched them roll around the board.

And then they soon stopped, both dice showing three on them facing up. “Okay, you got two threes, so you can go six spaces,” Prompto told him.

“Okay,” Noctis nodded, reaching over and moving his figure.

Once he’d stopped, Prompto then took the dice and rolled them, and when they stopped, he got a 3 and a 5. “Nice, eight,” he murmured, moving his figure the correct spaces.

Once he finished, Noctis looked up. “Sooo… my turn again?”

“Yep.”

Nodding, Noctis reached out and rolled the dice again.

This time, the raven got a 5 and a 6. “Cool, you got 11,” Prompto smiled.

“Is that good?”

“Yeah, it means you get to go farther. As long as you don’t land on a wyrm head, you’ll be good.”

“Okay…” Noctis reached out and began to move his figure again.

When he finished, Prompto took the dice and rolled them, and he got a 4 and a 5. Once he moved his character, however, he blinked in pleasant surprise when he landed on the base of a ladder. “Cool, a ladder,” he chuckled, moving his piece up to the correct space.

“Wow that goes up a long way…”

“Some of them are longer, some are shorter, and the same goes for the wyrms,” Prompto laughed lightly.

“Ah, okay…”

“Your turn now.”

“Okay.” Noctis picked up the dice again and rolled them again.

Before they stopped, though, the blonde felt pressure in his bladder, and he knew he needed to go. “Dammit…” he mumbled. “Noctis, please tell me there’s a restroom here somewhere.”

“…? A what??”

“Geez… Um… A place I can go pee?”

“Oh! Yeah, c’mon.” Noctis quickly stood up and headed over for the door.

Prompto was quick to follow, hurrying after Noctis. And thankfully, it took them only a little walk to the other side of the hallway. “In here,” Noctis said, gesturing to a single room.

“Thanks, I’ll be right out,” Prompto said, going into the room and closing the door.

Noctis tilted his head as he moved over to lean against the wall, stretching his arms over his head.

 

While the room didn’t have a standard toilet, it did seem to have some sort of plumbing system. Which was a definite relief. Prompto didn’t take long, relieving himself before pulling his pants back up and washing his hands at the small fountain that was set up. Once done with that, he stepped back out.

“Done?”

“Yeah, I feel better now,” the blonde nodded.

Noctis nodded briefly as he pushed off from the wall again. Prompto followed after him back to the dragon’s cavern, internally relieved that there was a bathroom in the Citadel. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if that’d been missing…

As Noctis dropped down on the ground by the table again, he watched Prompto for a few moments.

Feeling Noctis’s gaze on him, the blonde looked up curiously. “What’s up?”

That made Noctis blink, twice, before he said: “The sky’s up.”

A bit surprised by the answer, Prompto blinked, before he laughed. “No, I mean what’s on your mind?”

The dragon lightly flapped his wings, head tilted curiously. “…Do humans do that often?”

“Do what? Use the bathroom? Well, kinda, yeah. We can’t hold it for too long, or we risk going on ourselves,” Prompto explained.

“…Ah.”

Prompto smiled lightly, before looking to the dice. “Looks like you rolled a 7 this time,” he told the dragon, seeing the 3 and 4 on the dice.

“Ah, right.”

 

Like that, they spent several long hours playing. While Prompto won the first round, Noctis won the next round (which he’d demanded for a rematch), after which they did several other board games to keep themselves entertained. It wasn’t until midday rolled around that Ignis came by.

“Good day, boys,” he said as he entered.

“Hm? Oh hey Iggy.”

“Hi Ignis,” Prompto greeted.

Nodding, the sandy blonde asked: “If you two are getting hungry, lunch is ready.”

“Ooh nice,” Noctis quipped with a grin.

“Sweet, thanks,” Prompto smiled.

As Ignis turned to leave, Noctis stood up. “Shall we go?”

“Yeah,” the blonde nodded, getting up as well and following the pair

As they walked, Noctis briefly looked at one of the doors they passed.

“…Regina’s room?” Prompto guessed, noticing the glance.

“…Mmhmm.”

Prompto hummed in acknowledgment, internally sighing at the thought of seeing her again.

“Should I go get her?” Noctis asked of Ignis.

The sandy blonde sighed and looked back to the door as well. “Perhaps we should let her stew for a little bit… give her some time. It’s been a lot to take in today.”

“…Right… you’ve got a point…” the dragon agreed – right before his ears suddenly twitched and he turned back around.

And the moment he did he yowled as someone came barreling down the hallway and slammed into him, knocking them both over.

“Gah!!/Oof!!”

Prompto jolted as he looked at the ebony dragon, startled by the sudden collision.

“Ow-ow-ow…! Oh shoot!! I’m so sorry, sir!!” the boy who had crashed into Noctis exclaimed as he scrambled up and rushed to assist Noctis back up.

“‘s Okay,” Noctis assured as the boy “dusted him off”. “Why’re you in such a rush, Nowe?”

The boy in front of him was much shorter than any of them, with wild brown hair, dressed in some blank pants and a brown shirt, with a sword placed in a scabbard along the back of his waist.

“Oh I uh… I-I have to Lord Regis! Please excuse me!” he said quickly before bolting off again.

“…The hell was that all about…?” Prompto frowned, quirking a brow.

“…Whatever it was, I doubt it was good…” Noctis murmured, and Ignis nodded his agreement.

“Nowe is part of Insomnia’s scout troops… if he came back in such a rush…”

“Hoo boy…” Prompto sighed.

Ignis shook his head even as he turned to face Noctis and Prompto. “Let us move to the dining hall… I fear there may not be much time left for lunch.”

Prompto nodded, knowing this was serious, and continued on with Ignis and Noctis.

Thankfully, Ignis had already prepared lunch for them, so they just had to take their seats and pick up their food. Funny thing was that, while Prompto was given utensils to eat his meal (which Ignis said was a “Dry-Aged Tender Roast Stew”) with, Noctis was just picking up the bowl and sipping and eating from it with his claws.

The blonde didn’t dare question it, though, as he figured it was normal for Noctis (and probably the other dragons, too) to eat like that. However, after a moment of watching, he saw Noctis frowning and taking out a tomato and tossing it away.

“Not a vegetable fan, huh?” Prompto teased lightly with a small laugh.

“Bleh,” Noctis said simply, before he went right back to his meal.

Prompto chuckled, before returning to his own meal.

Just as they finished their meal, though, someone suddenly came in. The blonde looked up, curious, as he looked at the new arrival. He didn’t recognize the shifted dragon initially, until he spotted the scarring along the man’s visible skin and he realized this had to be Gladio.

“Better get ready for a fight, Noct,” the newcomer growled. “The Empire’s coming.”

“Oh, are you kidding?! Ugh…!”

“Can I come, too, Noctis?” Prompto asked suddenly. “I can fight long range.”

“Wait wha…? I can’t just take you out to fight!” Noctis protested. “That’s not why we brought you here!”

“I know that, but I want to help, and I’m good with my guns.”

“…” Noctis hesitated, before he looked over to Ignis. The man sighed softly, shaking his head.

“I think you’ll have to take him along lest he follow after anyway.”

“…Dammit… fine!” Noctis growled, though he was clearly worried, still.

The blonde smiled reassuringly at the dragon, before saying: “I just need to get my guns from my bag.”

“Just hurry… and make sure Regina doesn’t notice you.”

“Okay,” Prompto nodded, before dashing off to Noctis’s cavern and retrieving his guns before Regina even knew he had breezed by. When he returned, the weapons holstered to his sides, he looked at Noctis. “Ready?”

Noctis was, clearly, still unsure about the situation, but he nodded, as he followed after Gladio and Ignis to the window, pulling Prompto with him. The blonde felt adrenaline already beginning to course through him as he was pulled, and then waited for Noctis to push him out as usual. Which he did shortly after, following right after him with both Gladio and Ignis.

Prompto, despite knowing it was coming, still gasped as he fell, and then Noctis caught him on his back in dragon form. Once he had leveled, Noctis took off to the skies, with Gladio following close behind. And as they flew, soon enough a dark blue dragon joined them and several others. When Prompto looked over, he spotted the boy from earlier, Nowe, sitting on the dragon’s back.

“Wow… How many humans are there here?” Prompto asked.

 “Not as many as you think,” Noctis pointed out. “Legna just decided to take in Nowe for… actually I don’t even know.”

Prompto chuckled softly. “No worries. I was just curious,” he assured the ebony dragon, lightly rubbing his neck reassuringly. He then looked ahead, watching for danger.

And no one noticed a pair of cold eyes watching them go from one of the Citadel’s windows…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos if you know where Nowe and Legna came from.


	8. Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To protect what you hold dear, you must fight.

It took them only a few minutes to reach the walls, where Noctis perched briefly to look around at what they were dealing with. There were definitely a lot of Imperial soldiers stationed by the bottom of the mountain, and while they couldn’t see all of them, there were also a lot of soldiers scaling the mountain side.

“Dammit!!” Noctis snarled.

“Not good…” Prompto growled, one hand lightly fingering one of his guns.

Snarling angrily, Noctis braced himself briefly. “Alright… do we have a plan of attack?” he asked softly.

“We could always just light them all on fire,” Gladio smirked, but Prompto rolled his eyes. Considering the metal involved with the Imperial soldiers, it probably wouldn’t work. Unless the dragons’ flames could get hot enough to melt metal, that is. That, and if it DIDN’T work, then the fire would damage the greenery below.

“I would advise against it,” Ignis pointed out. “With them being scattered as they are, it would be a better idea to herd them together first, and then deal with them all at once.”

“…makes sense,” Noctis murmured.

“How are we gonna herd them into a group, though?” Prompto asked.

“They’ll probably be trying to attack us…” Nowe said. “If we can stay out of range long enough and stay ahead, we could, maybe, lead them to each other.”

“Good thinking,” Prompto nodded. “And if they get too close…I know how to keep ‘em back.”

“Alright… we in agreement?” Noctis asked. Once everyone nodded, he returned the gesture. “Good… GO!!”

And then, with that order, the dragons, one by one, leaped off from the wall, and they fell down.

 

Prompto watched the soldiers closely as the dragons got closer, and he kept one hand on one of his guns. Seeing how one paused to try and shoot at Gladio and Ignis, he swiftly yanked the weapon out and clicked off the safety before firing at the soldier, striking it perfectly and killing it.

If Noctis had seen him doing so, then he didn’t mention it, as he roared and glided down, taking off just before he could’ve hit the ground or the soldiers. At the same time, he snapped out his tail and knocked over several people and slicing through several more. Then, as he took off again, the group of soldiers he had focused on began to go after him.

Gladio copied him, but instead of slicing through the soldiers, he smashed them with his tail, his own group of soldiers pursuing the brown dragon and Ignis as well. Prompto watched with narrowed eyes as the group of soldiers chasing after Noctis and himself followed them, prepared to shoot down any that got too close.

Legna, unlike Noctis or Gladio, actually came crashing down on the Imperial soldiers before taking back off again, roaring in fury even as the remainder came for him. Nowe, meanwhile, was unimpressed at their attempts as he seemed to steer Legna by adjusting his own position.

Even if there were only three dragons on this side of the wall, it barely took them any time to completely herd the soldiers together… at which point all three took deep breaths before exhaling fiery death upon them. Prompto watched from Noctis’s back, thoroughly impressed by the strength of their combined flames, as they burned through the metal exteriors with zero effort.

Once their breath had run out and the flames had begun to die out, there was nothing left of the soldiers but smoldering embers, and Noctis laughed softly. “Serves them right!”

“Sure does,” Gladio chuckled.

Prompto smiled at the dragons’ satisfaction, before he heard an enraged roar that appeared to be… almost familiar, and relatively close, too.

“…!! Wha!?” And it sounded familiar to Noctis as well. “That’s…!”

Ignis looked almost as worried as Noctis sounded. “That was Regina…!”

“Did she… did she escape her room!?”

“She must have!” Gladio snarled.

“We need to help her!” Prompto yelled, but Noctis was already ahead of the blonde and taking off in the direction of the roar, and the sudden motion had Prompto clinging to Noctis’s neck as he streaked off in the direction the roars had come from, while a cold sweat washed over the blonde. He knew that although Regina hated him, he couldn’t let anything bad happen to her.

As Noctis cleared the rocks, the first thing they saw was some sort of facility, of which the top was just sliding shut, cutting off the other dragon’s roars. And this, in turn, had Noctis snarling in rage. “How dare they!?” he uttered, and Prompto could _feel_ the dragon shaking in rage beneath him.

“Noctis, you gotta calm down a bit,” Prompto urged quietly. “Otherwise if you act on your anger, you’ll get caught, too.”

“But—! ”

“I’ll get her out myself, okay? But we can’t afford to have anyone else get captured, too,” the blonde told him.

“Wha?! I can’t just let you—!”

“You can’t sneak in yourself, can you?”

“W-well… no…”

“Just distract them for me so I can find her, okay?”

Noctis looked like he was about to object, but in the end, he merely nodded. “Just… just be careful.”

“I will,” Prompto promised, sliding off the dragon’s back and holstering his gun again.

Noctis obviously didn’t feel any better about this, but he turned back and roared, taking back to the air again, along with Gladio and Legna.

 

Once the guards around the facility were distracted by Noctis and the others, Prompto quickly and quietly hurried down to it, and looked around the damned thing for some way in.

Thankfully, he only needed a little bit of looking around before he found an abandoned office. And inside, he managed to operate the computer there, opening up the nearby door to let him inside the main building.

Once inside the facility, Prompto looked around, before calling out in a whisper: “Regina…?”

He couldn’t hear anything, aside from the usual sounds of the machinery whirring around him, but as he continued moving along, he reached a different office. The blonde investigated, curious, looking through some of the files left on the table and hoping this would point him Regina’s way. Sadly, none of those did tell him… but they _did_ tell something else…

 

“ _Black Dragons are said to be the direct descendants of Bahamut. Hence, it is of the utmost importance to obtain a proper sample to continue the experiments._ ”

 

“‘Experiments’…?” Prompto repeated quietly, glaring darkly at the words. He needed to find Regina, and fast.

Still curious, though, he continued sifting through and reading.

And what he read in the next folder almost turned his stomach.

 

“ _The Black Dragon specimen we collected has been refusing sustenance. This needs to be remedied as soon as possible to ensure its survival. We also believe that the spit of the young Black Dragons may be toxic, given that Dr. Barus has remained bedridden since the bite it had given him last month. Proceed with extreme care._ ”

 

The date on the document was dated a year ago.

“Holy…fuck…” Prompto breathed in horror. He wasn’t even sure if he should continue.

After a few moments of contemplation, he finally did. This one was from a few months ago… which, he suddenly realized, was when Regina began running rampant outside of Galahd.

 

“ _The Black Dragon specimen has perished today. Cause of death was a severed artery. We believe the dragon might have severed it in an attempt to break out of its cage. The exact way it managed to do so is still unknown._

 _Proposal: Drug the next specimen when it is brought in to keep it docile._ ”

 

Prompto paled at the information, as he started to have a feeling as to why Regina hated humans so badly now, with everything he’d learned over time falling into place, finally. That black dragon in the reports had to have been her young, and it had died in captivity when it had been trying to get back home. And somehow, Regina had figured that out the moment it had, sparking her rage for humans and setting her on the warpath. Now he was hellbent on finding her and making sure she wouldn’t suffer a similar fate.

After tossing the reports away, he moved to the nearest console and booted it up, going through every setting he could to try and find her. Finally, he managed to bring up a map, and he found a single, massive room that was big enough for a dragon to be kept in.

“Bingo,” the blonde murmured, before figuring out which route to take, and then taking off to find her.

The moment he came into range, he knew he was close; he could hear the dragon roaring out in rage, joined by that of people panicking and shouting.

“It’s breaking loose!! Sedate it already!!”

“I can’t! There’s fire brimming at its--GAAH!!!”

“Dammit!! No choice… Load the charge!!”

“Going!”

There was more random shouting and Regina roaring, before…

“ _CLEAR!!!_ ”

What followed was what sounded like the crackle of electricity, and the lights above Prompto flickered in tune to Regina’s roaring that turned almost pained, though it was still filled with rage.

“Again!!”

“And… _CLEAR!!_ ”

Another crackle and another roar, but this one was even more pained than the last one.

Prompto glowered furiously before he whipped out one of his guns, before hurrying to the area. Hiding by the door, he swiftly aimed and fired at one of the bastards that had been using some sort of electrified pole to shock Regina, killing him instantly as he ducked back behind the doorframe again.

“What the he—” one of the men started – only to be chomped down on as he failed to notice Regina snapping her head to the side.

Once that happened, Prompto jumped out of hiding and opened fire on the assholes around the massive cage.

“Intruder!!” one of the scientists shouted – before he screamed as a wave of fire set him ablaze. And, as he backed up, he flipped over the barricade, screeching in pain.

The blonde continued shooting the scientists until they were all dead, either from him or Regina. Only when they were all dead did he slowly go over to Regina.

“Regina…?” he called out cautiously. “I’m here to get you out of there. Noctis is really worried about you…”

While she didn’t say anything initially, she was watching him with rage still present in her eyes… but, now, Prompto could actually spot the hurt – the _agony_ – that underlined that rage, as her eyes burned a vicious violet hue. “I… don’t need… your help… I don’t WANT it!!” she snarled, as she struggled up after the shocks she had just been forced to endure, pulling on the restraints that kept her down.

“How are you going to get out of there, then, huh?” Prompto huffed, before his gaze became sympathetic. “…I think I figured out what happened, Regina. You lost someone important to the Empire, too, didn’t you…?”

“…!!!” The tension along Regina’s back was visible even to Prompto. However, the dragon snarled lowly, as she strained against the chains keeping her down. “You… don’t know _anything!_ ”

“You’re somewhat right; I don’t know the whole story, but I can help,” he murmured. “But first, I need to bust you out of there. Everyone’s waiting for you.”

“I don’t—”

“Yes, you do need my fucking help, Regina, so get down from your high and mighty ‘I hate all humans’ perch and let me fucking help you get home!” Prompto snapped, getting frustrated. “Unless you’d rather me leave you alone to die here?”

The dragon growled angrily, but she kept quiet, conceding to the blonde’s plea.

“Thank you,” the blonde told her sincerely, going to the cage and opening it. He then broke the locks on the chains, one by one, with a crowbar he’d found nearby, soon freeing the dragon. “Better now?” he asked.

Slowly, the dragon pushed herself up onto shaking limbs, grunting in exertion as she spread out her wings.

Prompto nodded with a smile at the sight, before asking, “You’re not too badly hurt to fly, are you? We’ll have to leave through the door to get out first, though…”

“…the top opens…” Regina suddenly said.

“Really? Okay, well, only if I can climb on until we get to Noctis again…” the blonde shrugged. “I’d rather not get left behind.”

“…” Regina didn’t say anything, but she did nod her head once.

“Thank you,” Prompto smiled, before going to a switch on the wall labeled “top panel”, and flipping it before rejoining the ebony dragon. He hesitated briefly when approaching her, before finally climbing on as the top opened fully, lightly holding onto her neck.

As the ceiling opened Regina took a deep breath, her body shuddering briefly, before she finally clapped her wings and took to the air. As she flew out, Prompto could tell she was not in the best shape, from how her body trembled subtly.

When she came out, though…

“Regina!!!”

Prompto looked to see Noctis streaking over, and he grinned. “Told ya I could do it! No need to worry about me!”

Noctis sighed heavily, nodding briefly.

“You scared the living shit out of all of us, Regina,” Gladio chastised, frowning. Prompto sighed, before looking at Noctis.

Said dragon was watching his sister quietly, an odd look on his face. After looking at Prompto for a brief moment, on Regina’s back, he turned to Gladio. “Hey, Gladio… can we… not mention this to Dad?”

Shockingly, Gladio didn’t even seem to mind this fact, as he snorted sharply and then stated: “As long as this doesn’t happen again, then fine.”

Regina regarded her brother for a few moments, but she said nothing in response. Nowe, though, was a little more worried. “Are you sure that’s alright, sir?”

“Yeah. Let’s just go home.”

“Sounds good to me,” Prompto smiled.

After nodding, Noctis led the way back to Insomnia, with the other dragons close behind. As they flew, Prompto couldn’t help but feel like things between Regina and himself might actually improve now.


	9. Bridging the Gap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, all one needs is another's presence.

Finally, as they arrived back at the Citadel, with Legna and Nowe going their own way and Gladio going up to enter from above, Noctis and Regina touched down by the main entrance.

And once they landed, Prompto slid off Regina’s back, murmuring: “Thank you for letting me help you before.”

“……”

As expected, Regina didn’t respond, even as Noctis shifted back. Though, after a moment, she, too, shifted into her more human form.

Internally sighing at the lack of response, the blonde joined Noctis as they headed inside. Noctis lightly bit his lip as they walked, but he said nothing as they moved over to the moving room, stepping inside quietly before pressing the button to close the doors. Noticing how quiet Noctis was being, Prompto frowned slightly in concern, but chose to wait until they were in the dragon’s cavern to talk to him about it.

Thankfully, the journey up wasn’t that long, and once they reached the floor with their caverns, Regina exited first. Noctis followed after next, with Prompto close behind. The older dragon almost immediately disappeared into her own cavern. Noctis watched her go, before he headed for his own with Prompto.

And the moment they were in and the door had shut, he whirled on Prompto.

“How did you do that?!”

“What, you mean finally get her to listen?” Prompto said, quirking a brow. “I got an idea of what might have happened to her after reading through some documents I’d found, and I told her that. That, and I yelled at her to get off her high and mighty ‘I hate all humans’ perch and let me help her, unless she wanted me to leave her to die.”

“You… but how did you…?” Noctis started, a worried expression on his face.

“She lost someone very important to her, I know that, and it was agonizing for her. I can empathize with her on that,” the blonde murmured. “She still doesn’t trust me completely, that’s obvious, but maybe things will start to change for the better now.”

“Wait… did she… she _told_ you?!”

“No, she didn’t! I told you, I read through some documents I found while trying to find her, and I figured out most of it,” the blonde explained.

“…documents…?” Noctis repeated. “…what… did they say exactly…?”

“Mainly that they had captured a black dragon, and were using it for…experiments…” Prompto told him quietly. “But also, that it died while possibly trying to escape its cage…”

Noctis bit his lip at that, before he sighed. “…yeah… sounds about right…”

Prompto sighed heavily, lowering his gaze. “I understand her anger, but she targeted it in such a wrong way. Holding it in and not talking to anyone about it will only hurt her more in the end…”

“I know that… but it’s not easy to get her to understand that…”

“I know. But maybe if you or Regis talked to her, told her she can talk to either of you, or even me about it, that might help. She knows how I lost my parents,” the blonde insisted.

“You honestly think we hadn’t tried that already?” Noctis asked with a small, dry look.

“Well, now might be a good time to try again.”

“I guess…”

“Give it a shot. It won’t hurt to try again,” Prompto insisted.

“…Maybe later… let’s just… give her some time now…”

“Well, yeah, but I didn’t mean right this minute, anyway,” Prompto assured him.

Noctis sighed, reaching up to run his claws through his hair. “Ugh… I’m beat… mind if we take a break?”

“Not at all,” the blonde smiled.

Nodding, Noctis moved over to his nest and climbed in, stretching his wings a little bit.

Prompto followed after, climbing in as well after taking off his boots. Hopefully things might turn out a bit better now.

After yawning widely, Noctis plopped down and settled down with a hum.

The blonde did the same, lying on his side facing away from the dragon as he closed his eyes, soon drifting off.

 

Much later, Prompto woke up to his bladder practically screaming for release. After getting up with a small yawn, he headed out into the hallway and to the bathroom.

As he was about to enter the bathroom, though, the door opened and someone slammed into him as they exited. “Nrgh!”

And when he looked up, Prompto found himself looking up at Regina. “Ah…! Sorry, Regina!” the blonde apologized hastily.

“…” Regina regarded him for a few moments, before she silently turned and walked away.

Prompto sighed quietly, before going into the bathroom and relieving himself. When he was done and had washed his hands and such, he stepped out, heading back for Noctis’s room.

However, when a particular sound reached his ears, he stopped dead in his tracks. It was a familiar sound, sure, but he couldn’t place just what it was through his sleep-muddled mind. One thing he did know, though, was that it was coming from Regina’s room.

Frowning in confusion, the blonde quietly padded to Regina’s room, and peeked in through the cracked open door.

Regina’s cavern was bigger than that of Noctis, and at least twice as messy. Prompto could spot over hundreds of shiny trinkets, including gold coins and various studded goblets and pearl necklaces, heavy, gem laden chests, closets full of beautifully decorated porcelain, and a large collection of silken pillows of every color of the rainbow, lined with golden colored fleece. However, many of the goblets had been crushed and bent, likely by the weight of a dragon coming down on them fiercely, and the necklaces had been ripped apart, sending the pearls rolling over the ground, with several of them ground to dust already. Everything else had been similarly thrashed; the chests were dented, the closets had been tossed over and the porcelain lay smashed along the ground, with many of the pillows torn to shreds, the plush insides spilling out everywhere.

And in the very back of the room, was a single nest, even though it was much bigger than Noctis’… which only made Regina seem that much smaller as she lay in the very center, curled up and trembling. And that was when Prompto recognized the sound he’d heard; crying.

Prompto’s expression saddened at the sight and sound, and he wanted to help, but he hesitated; she would probably rip him to shreds if he said anything right now…

Suddenly, there was a tap along his shoulder making the blonde jump, nearly scared out of his skin, before looking back to see Noctis standing there. The dragon didn’t say anything, and merely cocked his head, a worried frown on his face.

Prompto shook his head, wordlessly saying he didn’t know why Regina was crying. Quietly, Noctis moved over a little, peeking in over the blonde’s shoulder toward his sister. Prompto looked with him, a concerned expression on his face.

“…” For a long moment, Noctis didn’t say anything, or even moved, before he sighed softly and cautiously, soundlessly, pushed open the door and stepped inside. However, before Prompto could question him, the dragon grabbed his wrist by curling his tail around the limb, and tugged him after.

The blonde blinked, surprised, as he was tugged after, and he really hoped that Regina wouldn’t blow her top over him being in there.

Regina didn’t seem to have heard them coming in, and her crying didn’t dissipate at all. Her brother stopped at the edge of her nest for a long moment, glancing over his shoulder toward Prompto. But Prompto looked at him, a little confused. He wasn’t sure what Noctis had planned, but he hoped that it wouldn’t end badly.

Rather than say anything, Noctis mouthed: “Trust me.”

Prompto nodded softly in response, trusting Noctis. Nodding, the dragon cautiously climbed into the nest, still tugging Prompto along. The blonde went with, still wondering what the dragon had planned.

Once they were both in the nest, Noctis took a deep breath. And then he called out: “…Regina?”

Which, naturally, made the other dragon flinch. The response made Prompto feel like he was intruding, if he was being honest with himself, and guilt washed over him as a result.

Before he could say as much, though, Regina spoke. “…what do you want?”

Noctis took a small breath, clearly prepping himself for whatever he was planning. What he said, though, was certainly NOT anything that Prompto had been expecting him to say. “Can we… sleep here for a while?”

Prompto nearly jolted, completely taken aback by the words, and it was clear that Regina was just as surprised, given the tensing of her shoulders and wings.

“…why?” she bit out coldly.

“Because… you look like you need someone here,” Noctis admitted, and his tail lightly squeezed Prompto’s wrist.

The blonde glanced at Noctis’s tail on his wrist briefly at the squeeze, before focusing back on Regina.

“…” The older dragon said nothing in response for the longest time, but, in the end, she merely snorted in annoyance. “…you’re not gonna go away, huh?”

“Nope.”

“……fine…”

Noctis smirked a bit, before he dropped down to his knees, looking up to Prompto.

Prompto got down as well, staying closer to Noctis than Regina, which didn’t seem to surprise Noctis. Rather than mention this, though, Noctis settled down on his stomach, scooting closer to his sister’s back quietly.

Biting his lip nervously, Prompto settled as well, uncertain if Regina even knew he was there at the moment. Noctis didn’t seem to mind it much, though, as he curled his arms under his head and settled there, humming softly. The blonde closed his eyes as well, remaining quiet for the time being.

Like that, the three of them slowly began to fall asleep.

 

“I’m shocked you kept your word,” Ignis pointed out as he and Gladio walked through the halls toward Regina and Noctis’ caverns.

“Well, I’m not about to piss anyone off, especially Regina,” the brunette snorted.

“Even still, when it comes to keeping them safe, you do sometimes mention things you shouldn’t,” the sandy blonde pointed out.

“Well, unless someone forces it out of me, I ain’t sayin’ nothing, which’ll happen when hell freezes over,” Gladio huffed.

Ignis hummed quietly as they arrived at Noctis’ cavern first. “Let’s see how they’re doing, shall we?”

“Let’s.”

Solemnly, Ignis raised his hand and knocked on the door. “Noct, Prompto, are you up?” he called.

There was no answer, though, making Gladio frown. Ignis, too, frowned in worry, before he reached forward and pushed the door open.

“They’re not here…” Gladio frowned when he looked.

“…where would they go…?”

Gladio seemed to think, before mumbling: “They couldn’t have gone to Regina’s room…”

“…they shouldn’t have…” Ignis agreed, but they still moved over to the other dragon’s cavern, just to be absolutely sure.

Gladio nearly knocked on the door, but paused when he heard more than one set of breathing.

“What is it?” Ignis asked, since his hearing wasn’t as strong as the dragon’s.

“There’s more than just Regina in there…”

This clearly worried Ignis. “They wouldn’t…” he murmured, reaching over and pushing open the door, looking inside.

As the two of them looked into the room, it took only a little bit to spot Regina in her nest as well as Noctis and Prompto, however, Regina had turned around in her sleep so that she was pressed up against her brother’s side properly, with Prompto up against Noct’s other side. All three of them were fast asleep.

“…Holy shit…” the brunette uttered quietly in shock.

“How in the world…?” Ignis breathed out.

“I dunno, but I’m not gonna investigate right now,” Gladio mumbled.

“That would certainly not be wise…” Ignis agreed, as he cautiously tugged the door shut again. “Let’s just leave them be for now.”

“Right.”

 

Prompto was not sure what woke him again, but when he did wake again, he was almost being squished between Noctis and Regina, with both dragons clinging to him like he was a giant teddy bear. The human stiffened when he realized this, shocked that _Regina_ was doing so, considering how much she hated him in the beginning, and probably  still hated his guts. Noctis, he wasn’t as surprised by, since the other dragon didn’t mind him. He remained still, however, trying not to panic over the thought of how Regina would react when she realized what she was doing.

Both of the dragons remained fast asleep while the blonde was having a small heart attack, barely moving at all aside from their claws slightly clenching and unclenching in time with their breathing.

Just before Prompto could start to actively panic, the door slowly opened up and Ignis walked inside quietly. “Ah, you’re awake.”

“Just woke up,” Prompto whispered.

Ignis hummed as he walked further in, carrying a basket in one hand. “I see they’ve already latched on, hm?”

“Huh?”

“Noctis and Regina get rather… clingy when they’re in one nest together.”

“You don’t say…” the blonde muttered. “…Do you think she’ll freak when she realizes she clinging to me…?”

“She might… so we should ensure she doesn’t know she’s been doing so,” the sandy blonde said as he reached into the basket while walking over to Regina’s side.

“What are you gonna do?”

Instead of responding, Ignis pulled out something that looked like a dark, reddish purple fruit, with pieces of the skin being pulled back to show the silvery-white insides; a cooked piece of dragon-fruit. Without a word said, Ignis moved over and placed the fruit in the nest, and then fanned his hand along the fruit, toward Regina.

As the scent reached the dragon, her nose twitched and she groaned a bit, her claws tightening for a brief moment. Prompto tensed at the tightened grip, hoping Ignis’s plan worked.

And thankfully, it did, as Regina turned her head and blinked lazily as her hands slipped away from his waist, her nails still twitching as she sniffed at the air. Then she rolled over and began to lazily move over to the fruit, snagging it in one claw and immediately beginning to munch on it.

The blonde relaxed once she let go, thankful that it had worked.

“…nrgh…” Noctis groaned, his own nose twitching a bit.

Ignis chuckled softly as he moved over and pulled out another piece of fruit, holding it over Noctis’ head. Immediately, the dragon turned his head, still with his eyes shut, and bit down on the bottom of the fruit blindly.

Now free from both dragons’ grips, Prompto sat up, stretching briefly. “Thanks, Ignis,” he murmured.

“Don’t mention it,” Ignis said with a smirk as the dragons continued to munch on their dragon fruit, still half-asleep. “If there’s one thing all dragons love to eat more than anything, it’s dragon fruit.”

“I know. I told Noctis this at the hot springs before, but my parents and I used to leave a piece of dragon fruit at the shrine we had during a good season as thanks to Bahamut,” Prompto told him.

“That so?” Ignis murmured, watching as Regina and Noctis finally finished their fruit and began to lazily come back to awareness.

“Yeah. I kept up tradition even after they were killed.”

The other human nodded as Regina slowly pushed up, and Noctis reached up to rub at his eyes. “‘Morning, Regina, Noct.”

“Mmm… morning…” the pair groaned lazily.

“Good morning,” Prompto told them, hoping that Regina wouldn’t bite his head off.

Regina didn’t seem to have noticed what was going on, rubbing at her eyes, while Noctis sat up and stretched his limbs out. Ignis, meanwhile, watched them for a moment, before he asked, chuckling: “Ready for dinner, then?”

“…mm? Already…?” Noctis asked with a yawn.

“Geez, didn’t realize it was that late…” Prompto murmured.

Regina groaned as she and Noctis climbed up to their feet, still looking like they were about to drop over from exhaustion.

“You guys okay?” Prompto asked as he stood as well.

“Hmm… yeah, just… still tired, a bit,” Noctis said.

“Well, we can get more sleep after dinner,” the blonde chuckled.

“Cool,” the dragon agreed.

Prompto smiled at Noctis at the simple reply, before they followed Ignis to the dining room.

As they came there, Noctis and Regina immediately took their seats again, as Ignis went toward the kitchenette to finish on the food he’d already started by the smell of it.

“What are you making for dinner, Ignis?” the blonde asked politely as he sat down.

“Creamy Crustacean Omelette,” the man said.

“Nice… thought I smelled eggs,” Noctis said with a smile.

“Need some help?” Prompto offered.

“Thank you, Prompto, but I’m almost done.”

“No problem. Maybe tomorrow?”

“We’ll see how that goes,” Ignis chuckled.

Prompto smiled in response, before settling in his seat.

It took only a few minutes for Ignis to finish, and he spread the dish over three plates. Once that was done, he came over with a tray, handing them each a plate full of the dish.

“Thank you, Ignis,” the blonde told the sandy blonde with a polite smile before beginning to eat.

Noctis nodded in thanks, while Regina hummed as she scooped up the first bite without a word, munching down on her food. Noctis was taking smaller bites, though certainly no slower than his sister.

As they ate, Prompto wondered what was going through Regina’s mind. Was she a bit better now, or would she snap later?

But whatever it was, he couldn’t tell from her expression, as she wasn’t even bothering to look up. Noctis, though, noticed the look and actually moved his tail over to tap the side of his leg.

Prompto blinked, looking at the dragon curiously, who in turn, looked at him with his head cocked.

The blonde shook his head minutely, and mouthed: “Later.”

“…?” Though Noctis clearly understood him, he remained curious. However, he did nod briefly as he turned back to his food.

Prompto returned to his meal as well, and soon enough, he was finished. “That was really good, Ignis,” he smiled.

“Glad you liked it,” Ignis said with a polite smile as the dragons finished as well, slurping up the remains of their food before setting down the bowls.

“Yeah. I never had seafood often growing up,” Prompto told him. “It was usually a treat, if we were lucky enough to get some.”

Noctis laughed. “We have a few water dragons hunting for fish regularly,” he said with a smile.

“Nice,” Prompto chuckled.

Regina didn’t even bother to say anything as she got up and began to head back to her cavern. Noctis frowned as he watched her go, before looking to Prompto. “Shall we get back?”

“Yeah,” Prompto nodded, following Noctis back after bidding Ignis goodnight.

Noctis yawned a bit as they walked, tail flicking a bit behind him.

“Tired already, huh?” the blonde teased lightly.

“So what?” was the quick response.

“Just teasin’ ya.”

Noctis snorted a bit, even as he stepped into his own cavern.

Once the door was shut behind them, Prompto looked at Noctis. “So, remember how I told you ‘later’?”

“Hm? Oh… Yeah… sooo… what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, per se, but I’m just wondering if Regina’s a bit better now, or if she’s gonna snap at some point. After all, she didn’t say anything about both of us being in her cavern earlier,” Prompto sighed.

“…” Noctis sighed softly. “Well… after what happened… I figured she just… didn’t wanna be alone. As tough as she tries to make herself seem… yanno?”

“I understand that, I was just really surprised she seemed…okay, I guess, with me being near her at all,” Prompto admitted.

“I’m glad, actually… I think she’s starting to realize that not everyone’s like that…” Noctis said as he moved over and plopped down in his nest. “…Although…” he murmured.

“‘Although’…?”

“…I still don’t understand _why_ she attacked Galahd… I’d get it if she went to attack the Empire… but why  Galahd?”

“I honestly don’t know…” Prompto sighed, sitting in the nest as well.

“…maybe… when she’s calmed enough… we can ask her…” Noctis murmured.

“Good idea,” Prompto nodded.

Noctis remained sitting for a few moments more, before he yawned again.

“Let’s get some sleep for the night, Noctis,” the blonde smiled, chuckling softly at the yawn.

“Hmm… yeah…” Noctis grumbled, as he flopped back onto his back.

Prompto smiled slightly at the dragon, before lying back as well. “Goodnight, Noctis.”


	10. Agony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pain is unavoidable.

Time passed by in lazy increments. Despite the fury of the dragons over the loss of their brethren, they only rarely headed out to fight the Empire. And the few times they did, it was only after the scouts had provided enough information that the dragons wouldn’t end up getting slaughtered. The only time that Noctis was permitted to battle was when the Empire was right on their doorstep.

Regina was still not entirely okay with Prompto’s presence there, but at least she wasn’t as hostile as she had been initially. She wasn’t far along enough for them to be able to talk about why she’d been so angry with Galahd before, though.

It was now almost a month since Prompto had come to live with the dragons, and he’d gotten used to having to wake Noctis early on so that he wouldn’t spend the day napping (something he would definitely do if given the chance), and they could either go out into Insomnia, get some food, or just play some games. And this was one such morning.

 

“So, what would you like to do today, Noct?” Prompto asked over breakfast. He’d been told by the dragon after the first few days to call him that instead of “Noctis”, since they were basically living together, and had become friends in a short time. “And no, we can’t nap.”

“Dammit…” Noct grumbled, much to Ignis’ amusement.

Regina, meanwhile, snorted softly, focusing on her breakfast.

“Well, I know you’d nap the day away, given the chance,” Prompto laughed. “So, what do you wanna do today?”

“Hmm… good one…” he murmured, tapping a finger to his cheek in thought.

“Maybe we could go to the hot springs again?” the blonde suggested.

“I suppose we--”

However, a roar from outside stopped Noctis from finishing what he was about to say, and this caused all four of them to snap their gazes in the direction of the sound. Prompto had, by now, lived there long enough to be able to differentiate the roars of various dragons, so he was able to recognize the roar as Legna’s, even if he had no idea what was being said.

“What’s going on?” he frowned, worried.

“I think they brought something back,” Noctis said as Regina swiftly finished her food.

Once she had, she stood up and hurried off. Noctis growled a little before quickly doing the same and then hurrying after his sister. “C’mon, Prom!”

Prompto hurried after, having already finished his breakfast, hoping everything was okay.

 

They hurried to the Alpha’s cavern, knowing that Nowe and would go to Regis first if there was something important going on. However, as soon as they entered the room, the two dragons almost stumbled to a halt, gasping in alarm. And Prompto, startled by the sudden stop, bumped into Noctis’s back, before looking over the ebony dragon’s shoulder curiously.

At first, he wasn’t sure what he was looking at, but when Nowe, who had been crouched on the floor, stepped aside, he saw it as well. On the ground was a small dragon, possible half Prompto’s size (a dragon young, he was sure), but there were a few things that caught him entirely off guard.

First of, the dragon’s scales were a pale, white-gold color – which was a color of dragon that Prompto remembered Noctis saying no longer existed because of the Empire – and secondly, the poor thing looked like it was just a few steps removed from death’s door. It was terribly thin, with the limbs barely seemingly strong enough to hold up its weight, and the wings were clearly underdeveloped and not in any shape to lift the dragon into the air under any circumstances.

“What… h-how did…?” Noctis choked out softly.

“What happened to it…?!” Prompto gasped, feeling horrible for the poor thing.

Nowe looked over to them sadly, biting his lip briefly, before he said: “We… we found them in the grasp of the Empire,” he admitted, as Regis stepped up to the small dragon – in human form again – and crouched down and placed a hand on its head. “We’re not sure why they were there… but… this… wasn’t the only one there…” When Noctis and Regina looked to him skeptically, the brunette finished with: “Just… the only one left alive… if barely…”

“That’s terrible…!” Prompto breathed. He went over to the dragon as well, placing a gentle hand between its wings.

“How dare they…?” Noctis snarled softly, clenching his fists, while Regina growled furiously.

The small dragon whined softly, its eyes slowly opening, showing pale violet-blue irises, a small whine escaping it.

“I’m so sorry this happened to you…” Prompto murmured sadly, gently petting it. “You didn’t deserve this fate…”

If the dragon understood him, it wasn’t entirely clear… but it did give a small growling noise. Which actually had those who understood dragon language staring in surprise.

“What did it say?” Prompto asked, confused as he looked back at Noctis.

“Um… they just called you ‘mother’…” Noctis said slowly.

Prompto jolted, startled by the information. “But…I don’t understand why…” he murmured, looking at the young dragon in confusion.

Noctis shook his head, just as confused, but Regina was frowning in thought. “…Maybe your hair’s throwing them off,” she offered, though, at the same time, she had her own doubts.

“I don’t think so,” Prompto replied. Looking at the dragon before him, he asked, “Why did you call me ‘mother’?”

The small dragon didn’t “say” anything; it just whined and tried to crawl closer to Prompto, but with how weak it was, it could barely lift its limbs as they trembled under its weight. Regina watched it continue to do this for a little longer, before she solemnly walked over. Before anyone could question it, she lifted up the dragon young, taking care to hold up its head properly. Silently, she then held out the dragon to Prompto.

Though he was a bit surprised at this, the blonde didn’t question it and carefully took the poor dragon into his arms, holding it close and gently rubbing its head. Even though it was wrong in thinking he was its mother, he wanted it to feel safe and cared for before it passed. Whether it knew this or not, the small dragon mewled softly, a soft rumbling growl escaping shortly after as it relaxed in Prompto’s hold. Its breaths were growing shallow, with its claws weakly clinging to Prompto as and its tail curling slightly around leg as best as it could. Sadly, it didn’t last long, as its breath continued slowing down more and more, until, finally, it ceased breathing entirely, and its entire body went limp in Prompto’s arms.

Prompto gazed sadly at the deceased little dragon, feeling horrible that its fate had ended up like this. He truly wished the poor thing could have been saved. As he slowly placed the young back on the ground, Regina bit down on her lip, almost to the point of bleeding. Noctis frowned sadly and walked over to behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and squeezing gently. The other dragon didn’t say anything, but she did reach up to wrap her hand around his arm.

Regis sighed as he stood up and moved back to his ‘throne’. “…Where were they, Nowe?” he asked firmly.

“We found them in an Imperial stronghold,” the brunette said solemnly. “We don’t know why they were there, but they were kept in cages… most of them were either dead or dying… this one was the healthiest we could find…”

“…this was the _healthiest_?!” Regina snarled out.

“That’s so horrible…!” Prompto gasped. He felt familiar burning behind his eyes, and started to shake slightly with emotion. Why would the Empire do something so heinous and cruel?!

Noctis, while he remained silent, was clearly as angry as both Regina and Prompto, but he was doing his best to keep his sister from blowing up on everyone in her rage. And Regis wasn’t really doing any better, even though he remained seated with only his tail flicking about.

“…what of the parents?”

“There… didn’t appear to be any…” Nowe admitted.

Prompto bit his lip to try and prevent a whimper from escaping. If that was the case, why did this poor little one think he was its mother, then…?

“…I see…” Regis murmured.

“…Father, we should--”

“No, Regina.”

“But--!!”

“Regina,” Regis interrupted, as he stood up and walked over. Then, he placed a firm claw on her shoulder. “As much as I respect your strength, as we are now, we stand little chance against the full onslaught of the Empire. We’ve lost too many already… and I do not wish to lose you, as well…”

The shorter dragon looked up to her father for a long moment, and she looked ready to complain, but, finally, she slumped in her brother’s hold, as she nodded her head slowly. “…I understand…”

The blonde watched briefly, before his gaze returned to the dead little dragon. Crouching down, he placed a hand on its head, whispering, “I’m sorry…”

“Nowe,” Regis said as he turned to the boy again. “Please see to it that their remains are brought to rest.”

“Yes, sir,” Nowe said politely with a nod.

Prompto bit his lip again as Nowe picked up the small dragon, and now the blonde had to fight desperately not to cry at the sight. Noctis frowned as he stepped away from his sister and moved over to Prompto, placing a hand on his shoulder as Nowe adjusted his hold on the dragon’s remains.

Before Nowe could leave, however, Prompto asked softly, “C…can I help…?”

Nowe stared at Prompto for a moment, but Noctis quickly cut in. “Me, too… if that’s okay…”

“You may, Noct,” Regis said with a small nod. He then looked to Regina, who, understandably, did not seem too pleased about the concept. “Regina, you do not have to go with them if you do not wish to… alright?”

“…I’ll go…”

“…Thank you, Regina,” Prompto murmured quietly.

Regina didn’t bother to reply to that, as the group headed for the window. Noctis glanced to Prompto as they were about to jump out.

Prompto nodded softly, ready, and Noctis nodded back at him, before leaping out of the window with both Nowe and his sister, pulling Prompto with him.

Prompto didn’t even react this time, letting Noctis catch him once he had shifted into full dragon form again, even as he continued to think about the little dragon. He just didn’t understand why it thought he was its mother, and not only that, but he couldn’t shake the horrid feeling of loss and grief from having watched the poor thing die in his arms.

“…are you okay?” Noctis asked as they flew, Legna in the lead as they headed in a direction that they’d never taken him before.

“No…” Prompto admitted in a shaky voice.

“…I can still turn back if you don’t want to go…”

“No! I just… I feel _horrible_ that nothing could be done to save it… And for it to die while thinking I was its mother…” Prompto whimpered.

“…that may have been for the better…” Noctis pointed out. “At least it wouldn’t have felt completely alone when…”

“I know, but still… I just wish it could have been saved…”

“Yeah… but… sometimes it just doesn’t work that way.

“It was so young, though…”

“It was… probably about… a week or two.”

“Oh god…!” Prompto whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut, tears leaking out.

“Prom?”

“It was really that young…?” the blonde choked out. “I can’t believe it…!”

“…do you want to turn back?” Noctis asked worriedly.

“It wouldn’t be right if we did…” Prompto mumbled.

Noctis nodded his head softly, adjusting his flight as Legna made a slight turn, before beginning their descent. And as Prompto looked over, he realized that, what he was looking at, was some sort of graveyard, decorated with hundreds of dragon bones, aligned in such a way that it looked like some sort of miniature village. “There it is…” Noctis murmured.

Prompto sniffled briefly, before nodding against Noctis’s neck as they got closer.

Noctis lightly touched down, taking a few steps to catch himself, as Regina and Legna came down around him, before he lowered himself down. Prompto carefully slid off, waiting for the others to get ready for their task.

As Nowe slipped off from Legna’s back, the three dragons shifted into humanoid form. Nowe was still holding the small dragon in his arms, and he briefly adjusted his hold, looking to Noctis and Regina. The latter of the two sighed softly, before she began to walk ahead.

Noctis watched her go, before he looked to Prompto and placed his arm around his shoulders. And Prompto welcomed the comforting touch, before walking in sync with Noctis as they followed after the others.

They walked down the path in silence, before they finally reached what appeared to be a separate section of the graveyard.

“…the white dragon burial grounds…” Noctis whispered softly.

Prompto swallowed thickly at the words, trying to keep himself together.

Noctis lightly squeezed his shoulders, looking around. The area was surrounded by many different skeletal remains, though they did all seem to have the same general shape when it came to facial features, such as the horns coming from their temples. The vast majority of the skeletons there were MUCH larger than the little dragon they had come to bury, but there were definitely some smaller skeletons strewn about.

His sister was looking around as well, and, finally, she took a deep, heavy breath, before she sighed and moved to one end of the small field, settling down, and began to claw slightly at the ground, creating a small, shallow grave. Prompto shivered lightly, before moving over to assist her. When he did, she looked up briefly, before she turned back to what she was doing. Then, shortly after, Noctis joined the pair of them, clawing rather than outright digging.

When they finished, Prompto sat back, looking at Nowe briefly. The brunette nodded softly, stepping over and gently placing the small dragon down in the shallow grave. And then, Regina and Noctis began to push the earth back toward the dragon, but they didn’t bury it completely; just its limbs, neck and tail.

Prompto frowned curiously, but the sight made him bite his lip harshly, and suddenly, everything became slightly blurred around the edges, and he started to feel light-headed.

While Noctis and Regina didn’t notice immediately, Nowe _did_.

“Uh… Prompto?” he asked. “Are you okay?”

However, Prompto found himself unable to answer. Instead, a tiny whimper escaped him, before he collapsed to the ground, out cold.

“Prompto!?” Noctis cried out, as he quickly moved to the blonde’s side, with Regina following close behind.

 

When Prompto woke up, he found himself in Noctis’s nest, and he felt a splitting headache hit as the light hit his face, making him groan in pain.

“…Prom?” a familiar voice called out.

“…Noct…?” the blonde mumbled, curled up in a ball as the headache pounded at the forefront of his skull.

“You okay?” Noctis asked as he moved over, leaning over the blonde.

“Head hurts…” Prompto whimpered.

The dragon tilted his head, before he reached over and rubbed the blonde’s head with his claw.

Prompto whined quietly, before lightly leaning into the touch, trying to will the headache away.

“Want me to get you something?”

“…Something to help with this headache…”

“Okay… I’ll be right back, just stay right there…” Noct said with a nod, standing up and hurrying out of the cavern to get him something.

Once he left, Prompto whimpered quietly, still curled up as he tried to fight off the headache. He didn’t understand why he was in so much pain, and he didn’t know what had happened before, either. He didn’t want to think about it too much, though; it just hurt.

Thankfully, Noctis came back quickly, carrying some sort of small fruit. Once he was back in the nest, he held out the fruit to Prompto. “Here.”

“What is it…?” the blonde asked quietly, taking the fruit in shaky hands.

“I dunno if it works for humans as well… but it helps us with headaches… specifically when our horns are growing out,” Noctis said, tapping his horns. “Iggy said it’s like a… um… aspin?”

“Aspirin,” Prompto corrected softly, before slowly sitting up and taking a bite.

“That’s what I said,” Noct said with a snort as he sat back.

“You said ‘aspin,’” Prompto chuckled quietly after swallowing, and then took another bite.

Noctis huffed a bit, but he still smirked softly, clearly pleased with himself for making Prompto laugh. Once Prompto finished the fruit off, he sighed in relief as he felt his headache already starting to dissipate.

“…did it work?”

“Yeah, it’s working. Thanks,” Prompto smiled slightly, before frowning as he asked: “What happened earlier, anyway…?”

“No idea,” Noctis said with a shrug. “You just… fell over.”

“Huh… I don’t know why I passed out, though…”

Noctis hummed a bit, flicking his tail about. “…you feel a little better… yanno… with the whole… well…”

At the reminder, Prompto lowered his gaze sadly. “Not completely right now, but…I will be.”

“Kay… sorry you… had to see that…”

“It’s not your fault,” Prompto said immediately. “But you were right before… At least it wasn’t alone…”

Noctis nodded softly, sighing. “That’s… one consolation…”

“Yeah…” the blonde murmured.

Noctis didn’t say anything for a while, before he finally asked: “Wanna get something to munch on?”

“Probably for the best,” Prompto nodded. “How long was I out for…?”

“Almost a day.”

“Shit… Sorry I worried you…”

“Don’t worry; you’re fine now, so it’s okay.”

“True,” Prompto smiled lightly, before getting to his feet. “Lead the way.”

The dragon nodded and stood up, heading out ahead of Prompto.

The human was quick to follow, feeling much better now than he had when he came to.

When they came to the kitchen, Ignis wasn’t actually there, meaning that the two of them were free to rummage around, looking for snacks. “Okay… let’s see…” Noctis murmured as he looked through the cupboards.

“See anything?”

“Hmmm… Aha!” the dragon crowed, pulling a small box from it. “Here we go!” he said as he popped the lid, revealing what looked like cookies. And they sort of smelled like them, too.

“Are those…cookies?” Prompto asked in surprise. He didn’t think they would be anywhere in Ignis’s kitchen.

“Yep,” Noctis laughed.

“Nice,” the blonde chuckled. “Didn’t think Ignis would have any in here, to be honest.”

Noctis merely chuckled as he pulled out a handful and held them out to Prompto.

“Thanks,” Prompto smiled before taking a bite.

It certainly tasted like a cookie, but there was some sort of fruity flavor to it. And, when Prompto saw Noctis happily munching on his own cookies, Prompto had a feeling that it was because they had pieces of dragon fruit in them.

So, he decided to voice that thought. “Dragon fruit cookies, huh?” he guessed with a chuckle.

“Hmhmm~”

“Figured as much,” the blonde laughed lightly.

Noctis merely grinned as he put another cookie in his mouth as he put the box back again.

“These are really good,” Prompto murmured, eating another cookie.

“Right? These are soooo good!” Noctis said with a mouthful of cookie still as they started heading back. Prompto merely chuckled at the dragon’s happiness.

As they came back to Noct’s cavern, Noctis still had a small handful left as he plopped back down in his nest.

“So, anything happen while I was out cold?” the human asked as he sat with Noctis.

“No, not really,” the dragon said with a small shrug.

“Kay. How’s Regina doing…?”

“…not sure… she’s been in her cavern, mostly.”

“Probably still upset as well about before…” Prompto sighed heavily.

“Think so… I dunno…”

“She seemed pretty upset that day,” the blonde pointed out. “Unless you think it’s something else…?”

“Probably a lot of things… but… I think she might be… a little more understanding why Father has grounded her,” Noctis murmured.

“Well, yeah. He doesn’t want to lose anyone else, especially family.”

“…yeah…”

Prompto went quiet after that, giving a small sigh.

After several long moments, with them munching on their cookies, Noctis asked: “Hey… you wanna try and see why she attacked Galahd?”

“Only if she’s willing to answer, but sure,” the human nodded.

“Let’s try, at least…”

“Fair enough,” Prompto agreed, getting to his feet again.

After finishing off their cookies, the pair of them headed over to Regina’s cavern.

“Think she’ll be willing to explain by now?” the blonde wondered as they left.

“Hopefully… I really can’t say, but I hope so…”

“I hope so, too…”

When they came to her cavern, Noctis took a deep breath, before he knocked firmly.

“…what?”

“Hey, Regina… can… can we come in?”

Prompto bit his lip a little out of nervousness, hoping she wouldn’t get mad.

“…fine…”

Noctis blinked, before he glanced at Prompto in surprise. The blonde was equally surprised, but he soon shrugged. Nodding softly, Noctis moved over and pushed the door open, stepping inside slowly. Prompto stuck close to Noctis as they went into Regina’s room, wondering what her state of mind was.

The first thing they noticed when they entered, was that most of the things that had been scattered around before had been moved aside. The chamber was still messy, but it was reduced to a slightly more ‘organized’ mess in comparison to the first time they had gone there. Regina was sitting at the window at the very back of the room, something Prompto had missed on his first trip into the room, staring outside in silence.

“Hi Regina,” Prompto greeted kindly in a soft voice.

“…mmm…” the dragon hummed solemnly, as she flicked her tail quietly.

The blonde looked at Noctis in silent inquiry, as if to ask: “Now what?”

Noctis didn’t respond immediately, thinking, before he moved over to join his sister at the window, peeking out to try and see what she was looking at. Prompto remained where he was, however, despite his curiosity.

After a few moments of silence, Noctis waved his tail, in an obvious “come over” gesture toward Prompto. Taking the hint, Prompto padded over and sat by Noctis, gazing out the window as well.

At first, it wasn’t obvious what was going on, but once Prompto focused on the view, he realized what was up; the sun was setting over the wall, and the light it cast over Insomnia created the most beautiful landscape, as the rays of sunlight played off of the multitude of colored scales of the dragons that flew along far below them.

“Wow… It’s beautiful…” he breathed, awed by the sight.

Regina glanced back, but she didn’t say anything right away. Instead, she just looked back out onto the city. Noctis looked at her briefly, before he looked to Prompto with a small, hopeful smile when Regina said absolutely nothing about Prompto being so close. The human mirrored the smile, before focusing back on the scene outside.

They stayed like that for what felt like hours, but it was only a few minutes, as the sun dipped lower and lower, until there was only a slight sliver of it visible over the wall.

Once it had mostly gone, Noctis lowered himself down and poked Regina to her shoulder. “Hey, Regina?”

“…hm?”

“Can… can we ask you something?”

“…you just did, dummy.”

“Hey!”

The interaction made Prompto chuckle as he listened to them.

After pouting for several moments, Noctis finally huffed and leaned his head on his arms on the windowsills. “…just… why go for Galahd, is the thing…” he said, treading carefully. “I mean… they live right next door and they haven’t done anything… right?”

“…that so?” Regina said, but there was something to her tone that… made it sound like she knew something they didn’t.

Prompto bit the inside of his cheek when he noticed, keeping himself from outright accusing her of knowing something and keeping it from them. Noctis seemed to notice, and he lightly tapped his tail to Prompto’s leg. “…what do you mean?”

“…you didn’t notice?” Regina grumbled. “I know you went there… did you honestly not notice?”

“…notice… what?” Noctis asked cautiously.

“…that village _reeks_ of metal… it stinks of the Empire.”

“Wait, what?” Prompto frowned, honestly confused. “But…everyone in the village hates the Empire. Why would those bastards ever be in it?”

“You tell _me_ why… doesn’t change the fact they stink of those metal tinheads.”

“Well, I can assure you that everyone in the village I know, which is majority of the residents, don’t want anything to do with the Empire,” the blonde muttered, before looking at the ground in thought.

“Uh-huh…” Regina scoffed solemnly, while Noctis looked to Prompto worriedly.

As Prompto thought about it, though, he mulled over the only people he didn’t know that well: the council. Their objective was to help maintain peace, though, not become a part of the problem.

“You okay…?” Noctis asked after a moment.

“…Just trying to figure out why or how the stench of the Empire would be in Galahd…” Prompto mumbled, before he frowned deeply. “Noct, you didn’t happen to notice the smell of metal on the council, did you?”

“Wha… uh… well… maybe a little… but they had weapons on them, so I just thought…”

“But like how Regina said? That wouldn’t make sense if it was their weapons… Actually, it couldn’t be their weapons. Cid’s weaponry doesn’t have a strong stench to them…” Prompto said. “If it’s the council, though, then this is really bad.”

Noctis bit his lip, unsure, even as Regina finally turned to watch him, leaning her head on her hand solemnly.

“Not only would them being aligned with the Empire explain the metal smell in Galahd, but it would also explain why they really pushed for the ‘virgin sacrifice’ thing so strongly…”

“…but… what do we do about it, then?” Noctis asked.

“I’m not sure…” the human admitted with a sigh.

Regina frowned, tapping her fingers along the windowsill quietly.

Prompto frowned worriedly as he gazed at the cavern floor, worried for his friends back home now.

“…maybe… maybe we should inform Father…” Noctis offered.

“Good idea, but I don’t know what can be done even if we _do_ tell him…” the blonde admitted.

“…good point…”

“Do you think we should tell Regis, Regina?” Prompto asked.

Regina frowned for a moment, thinking, as her tail flicked a bit. “…prolly should…”

“Right… We can’t keep something this huge from him,” Prompto nodded.

“Right,” Noctis said, as he and his sister stood up from their spot.

The blonde stood as well, before following after them to go and see Regis.

As they came to Regis’ cavern, the dragon seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. When he looked up as they entered, he seemed a bit surprised to see all three of them (not surprising), but he quickly shook it off. “I see you’ve awoken again, Prompto… how do you feel?”

“I had a bit of a headache when I woke up, but I’m okay now, thank you,” Prompto smiled politely.

“Good,” Regis said with a warm smile. However, the expression soon faded as he turned serious. “Now… has something happened to bring you here?”

“Well…” Prompto began, before sighing heavily. “We think the council members from Galahd, not the villagers, are in alliance with the Empire…”

“…!” Regis stared for a moment, before he glanced to Noctis and Regina.

Of the two, Regina was the one to speak up. “Dunno for sure… but their stench is all over the place…”

“…is that so?” Regis murmured softly, his expression darkening.

“I know everyone in the village well enough other than the council members, and no one wants anything to do with the Empire, and would prefer them gone,” Prompto told Regis. “So, the council being aligned with the Empire would explain the smell and them pushing so strongly for the ‘virgin sacrifice’ thing. They pushed the elder to it, according to one of my friends.”

The Alpha hummed deeply, lightly stroking his beard as his tail flicked about in obvious thought.

“…What do we do, Father?” Noctis asked, a bit worried.

“…For now, nothing.”

“But--”

“I trust your nose, Regina, but we have no other hard proof against them,” Regis interrupted. “I do not wish to cause any further harm to innocent bystanders.” Once Regina had settled a bit (though she did pout angrily), Regis continued. “Currently, our best bet would be sending out a number of spies to make sure of their alignment…”

“How’ll that work?” Prompto asked curiously.

“…Valanx,” Regis said, rather than respond.

“Yes, Sir,” a sudden voice said from just behind Prompto.

“Gah!” the blonde yelped, startled, before looking behind himself.

Standing there was a dragon-like human with shock-green hair, and dark eyes, two pairs of horns arching along the top of his head and his lower jaw. He was definitely imposing, even if he was hardly as big as the other dragons.

“I want you and Niche to go out to Galahd, and find out whether or not the council members are involved with the Empire. And if not them, who is.”

“Understood, Sir,” the dragon said, bowing his head politely.

“Good. Now go.”

Valanx nodded once, before he abruptly ran for the window and leaped out without a second glance.

“…that works…” Noctis murmured.

“Hopefully they find something out,” Prompto said softly.

“…Valanx and Niche are some of the best we have… they’ll be fine…” Regina pointed out.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine, I just hope they find out something, is all…” the blonde sighed.


	11. Infiltration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To get to the bottom of something, you need to descend into it.

“Ugh… how long’s it been?” Zack mumbled as he hauled the bags of wheat off of the cart to bring it to the storehouse.

“…few months, maybe,” Cloud offered simply.

“When do you think he’ll be back?” Sora wondered as he grabbed a bag as well.

“…who knows?” the blonde said as he dropped the bags he’d been carrying on the stack.

“I just hope that everything’s going okay,” Sora sighed.

“I’m sure he’s fine, Sor,” Riku, the brunette’s boyfriend, assured him.

“I have my doubts…” Zack murmured softly as they headed out. “What if the dragon was lying and it had been the same dragon that--”

“…the second dragon was smaller,” Cloud said without looking up from what he was doing.

“Really?” Sora blinked, looking at Cloud in confusion. Even Riku seemed curious.

“…its horns were also shorter,” the blonde pointed out as he threw a bag over his shoulder.

“How do you even _notice_ those things?” Zack asked.

“…how do you _not_?”

“We’re not all as attentive as you, Cloud,” Riku snorted.

“Hm… …mm?” Cloud paused briefly and frowned, looking beyond the others silently.

“Now what?” Zack mumbled, looking over.

“…Who’re they?” Sora frowned as he noticed two people heading towards them.

The two people walking into Galahd were definitely not from the area; one had shock green hair and dark eyes, and was dressed in loose clothes, with his most prominent feature being a jacket with a fur-lined collar. His expression was solemn and quiet, as if nothing in the world affected him. The second was a woman with dark hair and shocking golden eyes. Unlike her companion, she seemed to have an eternal problem with everything, if the way she walked was indication enough, her heels clicking almost effortlessly along the pebbled roads.

“I dunno…maybe we should find out?” Riku shrugged.

“Think we should…” Zack mumbled – only to get an elbow to the side from Cloud. “Argh! Oh c’mon!”

“…we have work,” the blonde said simply, before he went right back to what he was doing.

“Oh come on!”

Sora looked at Riku as his brother and Cloud went back to work. “Wanna check them out together?”

“May as well,” Riku shrugged, before the pair approached the newcomers.

“Hey there!” Sora greeted with a grin. “You guys are new here, aren’t ya?”

“…” The woman regarded him with a dark frown, while the man watched him with his expression not shifting in the least. It was he who spoke after a moment.

“…I suppose you can say that…” he said simply. “We are merely passing through.”

“Ah. Travelers, huh?” Riku guessed.

“Correct,” the man said solemnly.

“Well, nice to see some new faces, as long as you’re not with the Empire,” the silverette smiled faintly.

“Definitely!” Sora smiled brightly.

This made the woman snort angrily. “Ch… you won’t have to worry about that… if we had our way, we’d eradicate them from the face of the earth.”

“Relax, Niche,” the man soothed, though his voice and expression didn’t change.

“Not that I blame you for saying it,” Sora nodded. “They’ve caused nothing but trouble for everyone here since they arrived.”

“Unfortunately,” Riku sighed.

The man hummed softly. “…so this village has no love for them either, hm?”

“Nope,” Riku confirmed, before his expression became concerned. “But the council has been trying to convince us to make peace with them lately for some weird reason.”

“Which is bizarre, all things considered,” Sora agreed.

“That so…” the man murmured, glancing to his companion. Said woman hummed, but she said nothing about it.

“So, what are your names?” Sora asked with a smile. “I’m Sora, and this is my boyfriend, Riku.”

“…Valanx,” the man said solemnly.

“Niche,” was the woman’s response.

“Nice to meet you both,” Riku nodded. “Is it safe to say you guys have no place to stay right now?”

“…Isn’t that obvious?” Niche snorted.

“Just checking,” the silverette replied. “I didn’t mean to be rude. Since that’s the case, would you like to stay at my place?”

“Riku lives alone, and he’s right near my house!” Sora chirped.

“…We do not mean to intrude…” Valanx said.

“It’s fine. You’re not intruding at all,” Riku assured him. “In fact, I’d enjoy some company.”

“…well, if you insist…”

“It’d be my pleasure,” the silverette chuckled. “Sora, mind telling Zack what’s going on? Swing by when you’re done.”

“Sure thing, Riku!” the brunette grinned, before dashing off to his brother.

“Come with me,” Riku smiled slightly before leading the pair off to his home.

Valanx nodded, and he and Niche followed after in silence.

 

“Zaaaaaack!” Sora called as he ran over to his brother.

“Hm?” Zack hummed as he looked over from where he’d just lifted up a crate. “What’s wrong, Sora?”

“Nothing! Riku and I met those two who were coming into the village!”

“Oh? And?”

“They’re travelling through, and they’re gonna stay with Riku!”

“…what?” Zack uttered, surprised.

“Yep!” Sora grinned.

“Sora… are you sure they are trustworthy?”

“They hate the Empire as much as the rest of us, if not more,” Sora shrugged.

“Ah. I see,” Zack said, nodding. “Guess they can’t be all bad, then.”

“…idiot,” Cloud said simply as he walked by to pick up another crate.

“Hey!”

“Cloud!” Sora pouted. “They’re fine!”

“…uh-huh…”

The brunette stuck his tongue out at the blonde childishly in response. Cloud, of course, was unimpressed. Zack sighed, shaking his head before looking to Sora. “Okay, we’ll finish here soon. Are you staying at Riku’s tonight?”

“Yep!”

“Alright. Just behave around Riku’s guests, you hear?”

“Don’t worry, Zack, I’ll be fine!” Sora grinned, before leaving to Riku’s house.

 

When Sora arrived, Riku was just finishing up with the minor tour of his house.

“Heya Sor. Everything go well with Zack?” Riku asked.

“Yeah, he’s cool,” Sora smiled.

Valanx watched it quietly, but he said nothing of the matter, while Niche snorted softly.

“How’d Cloud take it?” the silverette inquired.

“Meh. He’s probably suspicious, but you know how he gets,” Sora shrugged. “Anyhoo… What were you going to make for dinner, Riku?”

“Probably just some pasta with garula meat pieces. Sound good?”

“Definitely!”

“Does that sound good to you, Niche? Valanx?” Riku asked.

“Ah… that is acceptable. Thank you,” Valanx said with a small nod.

“No sweat,” Riku chuckled. Go ahead and make yourselves at home. I’ll go and get dinner ready. Mind helping, Sora?”

“Not at all!”

Valanx nodded, and then gently coaxed Niche into the home, toward the room they had been assigned. Once there, though…

“This is _pointless_ ,” Niche growled. “We should be doing our work and finding out about the council!”

“We need to win their trust, first,” Valanx pointed out. “If we just showed up, they would not be willing to share information. It would be more prudent to work from the outside in and obtain that information primarily through outside sources.”

“…I suppose so…” Niche conceded. “I just wish to find those who snatched away the Alpha’s kin and rip their intestines out!”

“Easy, Niche… you know that the Beta has first dibs on that.”

“…Right, but a dragon can dream…”

 

Once Riku and Sora had finished making dinner, the silverette made his way to the guest room to get his guests for dinner. Before he knocked, however, he paused when he heard growling-like noises inside the room, making him frown curiously as he listened. The first growling noise sounded almost like Valanx’ voice, especially considering the calm with which it came, while the other growling sounded like Niche’s, easily discernable by what sounded like raw emotion lining the growls. It was almost as if the two were speaking to each other like that.

Riku’s frown deepened, but he wouldn’t question it right now. No point in stirring up the killer wasps’ nest. Instead, he knocked on the door, a pleasant smile in place. “Niche, Valanx? Dinner’s ready,” he called.

The growling stopped, and, after a moment, Valanx called out, his voice perfectly normal: “Ah, thank you. We will be out in a moment.”

“Sounds good.” And with that, Riku headed back to the kitchen.

Shortly after, Valanx and Niche walked out into the living room. Valanx hummed a bit as he tilted his head. “Hmm… that smells good,” he complimented.

“Thanks. It was my mother’s recipe,” Riku smiled. He then gestured to the pan. “Help yourselves. There’s plenty for all of us.”

“Ah, I’m afraid we’ll have to decline going first,” Valanx said with a shake of his head. “We are known to have a rather large appetite. We will wait until you have both had your share.”

“If you’re sure,” Riku nodded, before he and Sora dished themselves up and then headed out into the dining room…

Once they were done, Valanx moved to the pan, and solemnly filled the first plate, which he then passed to Niche, before filling one of his own, after which they followed Riku and Sora into the dining room.

Sora and Riku quietly thanked Bahamut for his blessing of having this meal, and then began to eat.

“Great job as always, Riku,” Sora praised, making the silverette chuckle.

Valanx didn’t say anything as he began to eat, though he did hum briefly when he took the first bite. Niche, on the other hand, didn’t even do that as she just wordlessly began to eat.

After a few minutes, Sora asked the pair: “What do you think? Good, huh?”

“…hm,” Niche hummed simply.

“It is certainly something else.” Valanx said solemnly.

“Glad to know you like it,” Riku smiled lightly after swallowing a bite.

Valanx merely hummed softly, as he turned back to his own meal. As the two boys watched, though, they realized that, despite how calmly they were eating, their guests were still devouring their meal at a much faster rate than they were. Which was impressive since they definitely had a lot more on their plate than either Sora or Riku. Their host made a mental note to keep that in mind, while Sora was simply just impressed.

Niche finished first and she silently set her plate away, placing the utensils on top of it. Valanx finished next, and he sat back quietly. Once Riku and Sora had finished as well, the brunette smiled. “I’ll clean up this time, Riku,” he told his boyfriend.

“Thanks, Sor,” Riku smiled, pecking Sora on the cheek before the smaller teen left into the kitchen with the dishes. “I’ll see you in our room, okay?”

“Sure thing, Riku!”

The silverette chuckled softly before standing. “Hey, Valanx? Niche? Can I talk to you guys for a sec? We can talk in your room, if you’d like.”

Though Niche was obviously suspicious, Valanx merely hummed, while reaching out and holding a hand to her arm. “…if you wish.”

“Thanks,” Riku nodded, before heading to the guest room with them.

Once they were in the room, Niche leaned back against the wall, arms crossed over her chest as she looked out through the window.

“…what did you wish to discuss?” Valanx asked solemnly.

“I… Well, when I came to get you two for dinner, I heard you both making growling sounds,” Riku began. “Is there something about you two I should know? I can keep a secret, even under pressure. I’m sure you don’t trust me completely yet, but I’m one who doesn’t give information lightly.”

“…” While Valanx seemed unimpressed by the words, Niche was growling from the back of the room. “…even if there was something to say, why would you believe we would share this with you?”

“I’m not saying you have to. Whatever you’re here for, though, I’m more than willing to help,” Riku swore. “After all, we’ve never had newcomers to the village.”

“…” Once again, Valanx’ expression didn’t change in the slightest. “…and what is your point?”

“I’d like to know who you two really are. Humans don’t make those growling noises I heard. I won’t rat you out, obviously, ‘cause you clearly have a purpose for being in Galahd, but I’d like to help.”

“…”

Niche growled lowly under her breath, before she growled out something that Riku didn’t understand. However, as he glanced over, he suddenly spotted something he’d completely missed before; her pupils were vertical slits down the gold of her iris. He didn’t say anything to comment, keeping it to himself for now as he waited.

“…and you expect that to be enough to potentially sway anyone?” Valanx asked simply, drawing his attention back. And as he looked up and looked closely, he saw that Valanx, as well, had slitted pupils.

“Like I said, I don’t expect you to trust me completely so soon. But I’m not a snitch. I won’t tell a soul about whatever you are.”

“Will you not?” Valanx mumbled softly, his dark eyes narrowing slightly. “…I wonder if you really would not…”

“…I don’t give information for something serious lightly. I can keep a secret.”

“…that so?”

At this point, Niche snarled out furiously. “We don’t _need_ your help, shortcake,” she growled.

Riku didn’t even flinch, but he did smirk after a second. “…Both of your pupils are vertical.”

There was an obvious twitch along Niche’s face, but Valanx held out an arm, preemptively, as if to stop her from lunging for Riku. “…You do realize you’re sticking your head into something you’d best not mess with… correct?”

“I honestly would prefer to help. That’s one thing Sora’s rubbed off on me, that he loves to help. And I want to help, in whatever way possible.”

“…last chance…” Valanx said calmly – and his teeth had visibly sharpened as his jaw seemed to get more and more defined around the back of it. “…do not poke a dragon’s nest to test their limits…”

“I’m standing my ground,” Riku said firmly.

“…” Valanx said nothing, before he snorted and shut his eyes, briefly shaking his head. “Foolish human…” he growled softly, and, as his eyes opened again, his irises filled his entire eye, while the bone of his skull seemed to extend outward from his temples and jawline, forming two sets of horns.

Riku’s aqua-colored eyes widened in shock, before he let out a low whistle as he settled down again. “You’re both dragons, huh?” he murmured. “Didn’t really expect dragons to find out anything from us, to be honest…”

Suddenly, Valanx’ hand – or claw, to be precise – clamped down on Riku’s jaw and angled his face up. “…for your sake… you better hope we do not regret this…” he said with an almost deadly undertone to his voice. “…clear?”

“I understand. Your secret is safe with me,” the silverette grit out around the grip on his jaw.

“…hm.” With that single hum, Valanx once again released him.

“So…why exactly are you two here, anyway? I know that dragons wouldn’t be here for no apparent reason,” Riku inquired, quirking a brow.

“…we are here by our Alpha’s order,” Valanx said firmly. “We are required to find something.”

“Information? Or something else?” Riku asked.

“…both.”

“What are you looking for?”

Before Valanx could respond, Niche growled out something to him that made him look back. He then growled out something to her, which she did not seem to agree with, as she snarled dangerously.

“What?” Riku uttered, confused.

Valanx growled out one more thing, and when Niche merely snorted and turned away – her own horns arching over her ears – he turned back to Riku. “…she still does not trust you.”

“I understand,” the silverette nodded. “…However, I can’t help if I’m kept in the dark.”

“…” Valanx said nothing for a long moment. However, finally, he clamped down his claw on the boy’s shoulder and leaned in to whisper-growl into his ear. “…we have reason to believe… that the Empire is among you…”

Riku’s eyes widened in horror, before he frowned darkly. “Honestly… I believe that. Especially with the recent events. Like the council trying to convince everyone to make peace with those bastards.”

“You’re advised to keep this to yourself…” Valanx said as he pulled back again. “If they _are_ among you… then it would not do to make them aware that we know.”

“Of course,” the silverette nodded. “What can I do to help you?”

“…do not act differently from before… do not give them indication that you are aware of them… and, when you find them, try to find proof so that they may be judged accordingly.”

“Got it,” Riku murmured. “In the meantime, I’ll try and keep your presence from being discovered by them. If they know there are newcomers, they’ll become suspicious as well.”

“…good.”

“We’d all best get some sleep. I’ll see you both in the morning,” Riku said, looking at the moon shining outside. “Goodnight, Niche, Valanx. And thank you for trusting me enough to let me help you. Whatever helps take the Empire out will benefit us all.”

“…hm,” Valanx hummed, while Niche snorted simply.

Riku nodded to the pair, before leaving and heading to his room, where Sora was waiting.

“Everything okay, Riku?” he asked when his boyfriend walked in.

“Yeah, just seeing what they have planned while here in Galahd,” Riku smiled. He hated lying to Sora, but he had to earn the dragons’ trust even more. And keeping his word would help.

“Ah. Well, let’s get some sleep. I’m tired from helping Zack and Cloud today…” the brunette sighed, lying back in bed.

“Same,” the silverette chuckled, changing into a simple pair of pajama bottoms before climbing into bed, too. As he held Sora close, he soon fell asleep.


	12. Connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To get anything in life, to understand it all, you need to start building connections.

As the morning came, Valanx slowly opened his eyes, unfurling from around Niche and rotating his shoulders, growling as the joints cracked loudly. Niche growled slightly in annoyance as she instinctively cuddled up closer to Valanx, and the other dragon merely hummed, letting her do so as he sat there, watching the village wake up from the window.

Soon enough, there was a soft knock on the door. “Valanx? Niche? It’s almost time for breakfast,” Riku’s voice called through the door.

“Hmm… right, we’ll be there in a moment…” Valanx called back.

“Sounds good,” the silverette replied, before leaving.

Valanx groaned as he rubbed at his neck, before he gently shook Niche. “Nrgh…”

“We need to wake up. We have work to do.”

“…right.”

As Niche sat up, yawning, Valanx got up from the bed and shook out his shoulders and head, before he snatched up his jacket and flipped it around his shoulders to pull it on. Niche was quick to follow in getting dressed, after which they headed out of the room.

Soon after emerging from their room, the smell of breakfast hit their noses, consisting of pancakes and bacon. Valanx merely hummed a bit, and, though she clearly smelled it as well, Niche didn’t seem to care at all.

When they came out into the dining room, Sora was setting out the dishes, and he smiled brightly when he noticed them. “Good morning~!” he chirped.

“…hmm,” Valanx hummed with a nod, while Niche didn’t even bother to respond.

“Ready to eat?” Riku asked, bringing out a platter with pancakes on it and another with bacon.

“I suppose,” Valanx said solemnly.

“I hope so. I made plenty,” Riku chuckled, before he and Sora dished themselves up.

Valanx nodded in thanks as he and Niche took their seats quietly.

“Help yourselves,” the silverette smiled once he and Sora began to eat.

As they began to eat, Valanx and Niche each took some pancakes and bacon, and began to solemnly eat, and again, they devoured their food much faster than the two humans did.

By the time they had all finished, Sora looked at Riku. “I’d better head home… Otherwise Zack’ll worry.”

“That’s okay, Sor. I’ll see you later, kay?” his boyfriend smiled, ruffling the spiky brown locks.

“Yep! See you, Riku!” the brunette grinned, before leaving after getting his shoes on. Once he was gone, Riku looked to the dragons before him.

“So…what are your plans for today?” he asked.

“…the first thing we need to find out is determine the origin of the scent that lingers in the village…” Valanx said. “…you should just act on as normal…”

“Understood. I’ll be working outside near the house today, but if you guys need me, just let me know,” Riku nodded.

“Hm…” the man merely hummed, before he and Niche headed out without a word.

 

Once Sora got home, he called out when he closed the door behind himself. “Zack! I’m home!”

Zack looked up from where he was putting away the plates curiously. “Ah, morning, Sora,” the taller man said with a smile. “So, how was it at Riku’s?”

“It was nice! Niche and Valanx, the newcomers, eat a lot faster than me, though,” Sora replied as he toed off his shoes.

“Oh?” Zack chuckled. “What, they were just hungry?”

“I dunno. They also had a lot of food, too. More than Riku and me, that’s for sure.”

“Huh… guess they’re just big eaters.”

“Guess so,” Sora shrugged, before asking, “So what are we doing today?”

“Well, we’re cleared from work for the day, so what do you want to do?”

“Not sure… I know Riku’s busy at his house today… What’s Cloud up to?”

“Hm… think he said he was gonna train, today. How ‘bout you join him and see if you can get him to train you?” Zack offered with a small grin.

“Okay!” the brunette nodded with a grin, slipping his shoes back on and running out of the house. “See you, Zack!”

“Haha. See ya, Sor!”

 

Sora soon arrived at Cloud’s house, and he looked over at the blonde’s training yard to see said man training. “Hey Cloud!” he called in greeting.

At the call, Cloud hummed and looked over, though he didn’t seem surprised to see Sora at all.

“Mind training me for a bit?” he asked politely as he walked over.

“…why not ask Zack?” Cloud said simply without looking over from swinging his sword.

“He said to ask you since you’re already training today.”

“…of course he would…”

“So…will you?”

“…” After a while more, Cloud finally sighed. “…fine.”

“Thanks, Cloud!” Sora grinned, before joining him.

 

“…Two days…” Noctis mumbled from where he was resting by the window.

“Huh?” Prompto uttered, looking up from where he was trying to itch at his back on the rocky wall of the cavern. He’d felt a couple little itchy spots on it earlier, and now they were getting to be a little much.

“Just wondering how much Valanx and Niche have figured out already…” the dragon mumbled, flicking his tail at the air.

“Hard to say until we see them…” the blonde replied, finally getting the itching to stop for now. He then joined the raven by the window. “Knowing the villagers, I’m sure they’d be more than willing to help them, if they were to know the situation. Especially my friends. I know Cloud would be suspicious, but he’s good at heart.”

“…that’s the spiky haired one, right?” Noctis asked curiously.

“Yeah, the blonde one,” Prompto confirmed.

“Ah… he looked like he wanted to scuffle.”

“Yeah… He can be like that with new faces sometimes, but I would like to think he wouldn’t try to take any of you guys on.”

“Hm… I’m not so sure…”

“He’s not that stupid.”

“If you say so…”

“I do say so,” Prompto chuckled, poking Noctis on the nose teasingly.

That made the dragon look at him oddly, blinking. “…What was that for?

“Because you were being silly. Cloud isn’t stupid enough to try and take on a dragon unless it’s friendly practice,” the blonde explained.

“…think he’d be up to that sometime?” Noctis asked suddenly.

“I’m sure he would be,” Prompto shrugged. “Why?”

“Hmm… maybe we could have a spar one day.”

“Yeah, when things settle down,” the blonde chuckled. “I’m sure everyone will get along better when the dust settles…”

“Hmhmm…

“So, how long do they usually take to report back? Niche and Valanx, I mean,” Prompto asked curiously as he leaned against the windowsill.

“Depends… sometimes a few days, but once they were gone a month…

“What job was that for?”

“…ah… that was… trying to find Amare…” Noctis finally admitted.

“…Amare was Regina’s young the Empire captured, huh…?” Prompto guessed quietly.

“…” Rather than respond verbally, Noctis merely nodded his head.

“I’m really sorry…” the blonde murmured softly. “I truly wouldn’t wish that on anyone… Except the Empire, since they’re the ones causing so much pain.”

Noctis sighed heavily. “Yeah… and… with Ravus gone… well…”

“…Ravus was her mate, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah…”

“The Empire killed him too, I take it?”

“Shot him out of sky as he was coming home…”

Prompto winced, seeing that image in his mind’s eye all too well. “Damn…” he mumbled. “I don’t blame Regina for being so angry, but honestly, she really could have been a bit more…logical, I guess, all things considered…”

“Sadly, when dragons get angry, there’s little that can stop them…” Noctis said as he stood up.

“Fair enough,” the blonde conceded.

“Think she’d appreciate a visit?”

“One way to know, right?

“True. Let’s go visit her, then,” Prompto smiled slightly.

Noctis nodded as he went ahead of Prompto toward Regina’s cavern.

“Hey, Noct? Before we go in there, I have a quick question for you,” the blonde said before they left Noctis’s cavern. “How long were Regina and Ravus together before he was killed?”

“Huh…? Um… well… I think almost 5 years,” Noctis said after a quick calculation.

“Okay, just curious,” Prompto said. “I have an idea to help her a little, but just let me go through with it, unless you can tell she’s getting pissed off. Then stop me, okay?”

“O… kay…? Just… be careful, okay?”

“Will do.”

With that said, Prompto followed after Noctis to Regina’s cavern door.

Once they arrived, Noctis lifted his hand and knocked. “Regina? Can we come in?”

“…mm… sure…”

Prompto gave his friend a reassuring smile, and then they went inside. “Hi Regina,” he greeted kindly.

Regina merely hummed from where she laid in her nest, seemingly lost in thought.

Prompto soon looked around the room, seeking out a preferably unbeaten piece of treasure, but he eventually settled for one that didn’t appear to be as damaged as the others: a gold and silver necklace with diamonds and emeralds embedded in it, despite the scorch marks on it. “Hey, Regina? This is a really pretty necklace,” he called as he held it.

While Noctis looked at him oddly, Regina lazily lifted her head from where it rested. “…’s that what it’s called?” she mumbled.

“Yeah. Normally humans would wear these around their necks,” he told her. “Where’d you get it?”

“……”

For several long moments, the dragon didn’t say anything. Noctis, meanwhile, bit his lip in worry, tail flicking about.

But then…

“…was a present…” Regina admitted finally.

“Really? Who gave it to you?” the blonde inquired, his tone curious. “They did good.”

“…!!!” Noctis’ eyes widened in shock, even as he chanced a glance to his sibling.

“……”

Prompto, however, waited patiently, knowing the answer, but playing innocent.

“…someone…” Regina finally said

“Was it for a certain occasion?” the blonde questioned.

“…not really…”

“…Wanna tell me about it?” Prompto asked kindly.

“…what’s it to you?” Regina grumbled.

“Well, I’m curious,” the human replied. “Besides, they must mean something to you, or you wouldn’t have them.”

“…” For a long time, Regina didn’t say anything, before she finally sighed. “…just… random present…”

“Well, they’re all really beautiful,” Prompto murmured, looking at the other treasures in the room.

“…thanks… I guess…”

“Do any of them in particular have a special meaning to you?”

“Prom!!” Noctis whisper-shouted, slightly panicky.

Regina, though, didn’t say anything in response.

“It’s okay, Regina. I’m here to listen, though,” Prompto assured her.

“…” Rather than say anything, though, Regina’s eyes shifted over to the side of the room. And when Prompto followed her gaze, he spotted a sleek, gem-encrusted blade, resting against the wall.

The blonde’s eyes widened, and he let out a low, impressed whistle. “That one’s even more beautiful than the others,” he murmured.

“…I guess…”

“Would you mind telling me about that one?”

“…” Regina’s tail flicked a bit at the air, and she remained silent for the longest time. Finally… “…was just something he found… said it was pretty…” she mumbled.

“Well, he was right, it _is_ really pretty,” Prompto smiled. “Who was it that found it, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“…no one you know…”

“Still, I’m sure he was someone special to you. It doesn’t matter if I knew him or not.”

“…”

Noctis bit his lip. He wasn’t sure if he should jump in or if he should let Prompto keep talking.

“Regardless, I’d like to know about him,” Prompto insisted.

“…” Obviously, Regina wasn’t keen on the whole thing, in the slightest. “…why?”

“Because someone that special to you sounds to me like someone amazing, and I want to know more,” Prompto explained, going over and sitting on the edge of the nest with a small smile.

“…” Regina briefly looked up at Prompto, before she pointedly turned around in the nest, facing away from him with her legs tugged up and her wings curled around her. After a long time, though… “…he was…”

However, the blonde didn’t push for answers, patiently waiting.

“…he was… always bringing presents…” Regina mumbled. “…I told him I didn’t need any… but he just… kept bringing them…”

“Sounds like he was trying to court you,” Prompto murmured.

“…yeah… kinda…”

“What was his name?”

“…Ravus…”

“Well, do you wanna talk about Ravus? I’d like to know more about him,” Prompto smiled kindly. “He sounds nice so far.”

“…he was…” Regina repeated quietly, her tail flicking in the nest by her feet.

“What else did Ravus do to win you over? After all, I can tell his courting wasn’t for nothing.”

“…he initially tried to just… show off his strength…” Regina admitted, and there was a slight chuckle underlining his voice. “As if I’d be interested in just that…”

“I can see you not being impressed by that alone,” Prompto chuckled softly.

“That, and he wasn’t any stronger,” Noctis suddenly piped in, plopping down on the edge of the nest as well. “Right, Regina?”

At that, the older dragon actually laughed. “Didn’t even last an hour…”

“Last an hour doing what?” the blonde asked.

“Sparring,” Regina and Noctis said simultaneously.

“Ah,” Prompto nodded, chuckling. “What else did he do?”

“Hmm… ah… he just kept coming back, every time I told him ‘no’.”

“Very persistent, huh?”

“Definitely…”

“Well, it sounds like he certainly won you over,” Prompto smiled.

“Sometimes I wonder what even possessed me to accept…”

“I thought it was because he was good in free-falling,” Noctis quipped with a smirk, which earned him a smack to his arm by the other dragon.

Prompto laughed lightly at that. “That’s why?”

“Hmm… maybe a little bit,” Regina said with a shrug.

“He certainly sounds like he was interesting,” Prompto smiled. “I would have liked to have met him.”

Regina hummed a little bit, but she said nothing else. However, as Prompto glanced over, he realized that there was an almost lost expression on her face.

The blonde smiled slightly, before he said, “Sometimes part of grieving is helping to keep the memory of our lost loved ones alive. Remembering the good times is also a part of it. I know it’s hard, but remember the good times about Ravus, not just the bad.”

“…” Regina regarded Prompto for a moment, but that didn’t last for long as she turned away again. “…but…”

“But…?”

“…I miss him…”

“I know, and I’ve been there. My parents’ death affected me strongly, too. I missed them, and still do, but it got better with time. Nothing can fill the gap of losing someone like that, but that’s when you rely on your family and friends to support you and be there to pull you out of depression and anger,” Prompto told her.

“……”

Noctis frowned sadly when he saw his sister blinking more and more, before he looked over to Prompto, nodding once, before he climbed into the nest as well. The blonde climbed in, too, lying down on Regina’s other side without a word.

Once they were both there, Noctis settled against his sister’s side, placing his head on her shoulder and reaching out for one of her hands, holding it gently but firmly. And Prompto took her other hand, holding it gently as he smoothed his thumb along the back of her hand, silently reassuring her that she wasn’t alone. He was glad they were there for Regina, as she deserved to be happy again, despite everything.

And when Regina’s hands tightened around both his and Noct’s, it was clear that she really did appreciate that fact. And even more when she began to sob quietly. Noctis frowned as he scooted closer and curled a wing around his sister.

Prompto reached over with his free hand, gently rubbing her shoulder soothingly.

As Regina cried, as quietly as dragons were probably capable of doing, Noctis and Prompto remained at her side, holding her close to ensure her that she was not alone, and that they were both there for her, no matter what.

 

“Think everything’s okay?” Gladio wondered as he and Ignis headed to Regina’s cavern.

“Hard to say…” Ignis admitted. “But, Noct and Prompto have been making some progress on Regina’s part.

“True…” the brunette admitted.

When they reached the cavern, the two of them shared a look, before Ignis politely knocked on the heavy door.

Unsurprisingly, there was no response.

After sharing a brief look with Gladio, Ignis stepped forward and, slowly, pushed the door open.

And, while they had somewhat been expecting it after the last time, they were still pleasantly surprised when they spotted Prompto and Noctis cuddling up against Regina on either side of her, each of them holding one of her claws as they lay in the older dragon’s nest.

“Well… that’s certainly making headway.”

“Definitely. I’m not waking her, though,” Gladio snorted quietly.

“I wouldn’t recommend it, either…” Ignis chuckled. “Let us wait until they wake on their own.”

“Right.”

After nodding once, Ignis pulled the door shut again, so as to let the small group sleep.


	13. The Origin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the source is found... it needs to be isolated and dealt with appropriately.

“…hmph!” Valanx snorted as he easily sidestepped Cloud’s weapon, before lashing out with the practice sword he’d been given. That was just as easily dodged, and left the way open for Cloud to swing again. This time, though, Valanx had no choice but to block the swing.

“Huh… he’s good…” Zack mumbled as he watched from the sidelines.

“Better than I thought he’d be,” Riku admitted, while Sora smiled by his side.

And Niche merely smirked as the two combatants lashed out at each other, their weapons clashing with loud clangs over and over. As Valanx lashed out again, Cloud leaped over the swing, and then spun in midair whilst swinging out at the other man, which had to be ducked to avoid getting his head chopped off.

Riku’s aqua eyes widened at Valanx’s skill, surprised that a dragon would be this good with a sword. He never thought they even _used_ weapons other than their fangs, claws, and fire, but apparently they were still well enough adapted to the use of swords that they could at least hold their own. As was proven when Valanx circled around Cloud to try and get behind him, though Cloud, naturally, saw him coming and managed to block him almost easily.

“Mm… hey, you guys hired swords?” Zack asked of Niche.

“Hm… Not last time I checked.”

“Still impressive, regardless,” Riku told her. Sora nodded his agreement, still watching.

Just then, Valanx and Cloud suddenly leaped away from each other, blades primed, still, even though they didn’t seem ready to continue.

“…you’re not half bad…” Valanx said finally.

“…hm… speak for yourself…” Cloud said in response.

Sora grinned, pleased that Cloud was actually impressed by someone other than Zack’s sword skills, for once.

“Nice work, guys,” Riku praised.

Valanx merely hummed as he stood up properly and sheathed the practice sword and tossed it back to Cloud, who caught the weapon almost easily. “Hm…”

“…whatever,” was Cloud’s only response, which was clearly mirrored by Valanx as the dragon walked back over to the others.

“How’d you get so good?” Sora asked.

“…practice,” was all the green-haired man offered as he vaulted over the fence without any difficulty, even as Cloud walked over after putting the swords away.

“Man, I wish I was that good…” the brunette pouted.

“Just practice a bunch, Sor. You’ll get there someday,” Riku assured him with a chuckle.

Niche snorted solemnly, while Valanx merely hummed as he adjusted his jacket.

“Oh, by the by,” Zack started, “how long will you be hanging around?”

“…as long as we need…” Valanx said simply.

“Hey, you’re both welcome to stay as long as needed,” Riku shrugged.

“Mmm…” Valanx hummed quietly.

Niche snorted in turn – before she tensed, briefly sniffing at the air.

“What’s wrong?” Sora asked.

Niche, however, didn’t answer; instead, she turned her head slightly, frowning darkly. But before Sora could repeat his question…

“Oh? This is a rare occasion,” a familiar voice said, making the humans look over.

“Oh… Good morning, Mr. Izunia,” Zack said politely.

Sora blinked, surprised, before tucking himself into Riku’s side.

“Something you need, Mr. Izunia?” Riku asked.

“Oh no, not specifically,” the man said with a soft chuckle, before he regarded the two dragons (not that he knew that). “I’m merely surprised to see new faces in town. That’s all.”

“…” Niche didn’t say anything, but her expression was cold and dark. Valanx, however, kept his expression neutral, as he reached out and placed his arm around her shoulders.

“They’re travelers, stopping to rest in Galahd,” Riku told him.

“That so?” the man murmured thoughtfully, before he turned to the pair with half-smirk. “Well, I do hope you will enjoy your stay here. However long you decide to make it,” he said, briefly tipping his hat before he solemnly walked away again.

“…” Both Niche and Valanx watched him go, but there was definitely something going on there.

Riku frowned at the behavior, before he said: “Hey guys? I’m gonna go make some lunch for Niche, Valanx, and me. We’ll catch ya later, kay?”

“Okay, Riku!” Sora smiled, and Riku nodded before leaving with the aforementioned pair.

Valanx wordlessly followed, though he had to forcibly push Niche along after Riku.

 

When they got back to the silverette’s house, Riku shut the door, before asking: “What did you guys notice that was off about Ardyn?”

“…he reeks…” Niche snarled softly. “… _reeks_ of metal…!”

“So, he must be aligned with the Empire for sure…” Riku mumbled. “There’ve been rumors about Ardyn’s past before…”

“…the smell is one thing… but we need further proof that he is with them,” Valanx pointed out.

“But the stench is so strong! There’s no way--”

“The Alpha would not appreciate us doing half work, Niche,” the other dragon said firmly.

“……”

“Well, Ardyn’s past is fishy, according to the rumors. He’s the most recent member of the council,” Riku told them.

“…I see…” Valanx murmured. “So, he is not native to this area…”

“No, but the council chose to add him among their members after my father’s death…” Riku murmured. “My father was on the council, but after my mother died during an attack by the Empire, my father spiraled into depression, eventually committing suicide…”

“…I see…”

“But anyway…” the silverette sighed, shaking his head a little, “Ever since Ardyn joined the council, that’s when things started to change with them. Sora, even though he can be a little oblivious sometimes, even gets a bad feeling about Ardyn.”

“Shouldn’t that be enough to--”

“No… an unfortunate series of circumstances alone is not proof enough…” Valanx murmured. “What we need is objective proof. Perhaps some reports he has made up… or something similar so that there is no way it can be misinterpreted as such. If we fail to provide it, then he can wriggle out of any accusations, like a wyrm…”

“Grrr…!”

“Hmm…” Riku hummed thoughtfully. “It might take some time, but I may be able to talk to one of Father’s old friends in the council about investigating Ardyn. Just because a majority of the council is of the same mind, doesn’t mean they all are.”

“…that would be great. Thank you.”

“Anytime. I want this bullshit with the Empire to be over with, too,” Riku murmured.

“…Niche.”

“Huh…?”

“Return to Insomnia, inform the Alpha that we have a lead.”

“…Right,” Niche said, nodding firmly.

“I’ll see you when you get back,” Riku told her.

Niche said nothing else as she turned and headed out without a word.

“…much as I loathe to send her back alone… it would be better…” Valanx murmured once she had left. “…she often lets her anger get the better of her…”

“I can tell…” Riku nodded. “I understand, though. Sometimes anger is hard to control.”

“…that is is…”

“Well, I’ll talk to Dino tomorrow. For now, I’ll make us some lunch. I’m sure that training session wore you down a little,” the silverette chuckled.

“…mm… that man…” Valanx hummed.

“Hm?”

“…I am not sure… but I feel like there is more to him than he is prepared to show…”

“Hard to say why… I’m sure we’ll find out someday.”

“…mmm…”

 

While all of that was happening, Regina, Noctis and Prompto had finally woken up again, and were spending their time at the hot springs to relax for a while. Unlike the first time, however, it wasn’t as tense a trip.

Mostly because…

“Gah! You little!!” Regina snarled, lashing out at the water to counter the wave her brother had launched at her earlier, while the other dragon merely laughed and brought up his wing as a shield.

Prompto laughed as well at their antics, sitting back on a rock to cool off for a little bit. That didn’t last long, though, as suddenly, Noctis scooped up some water, and threw it at Prompto with a laugh.

“Gah!” Prompto yelped, before swiping at the water, launching a large splash of water at Noctis before he could shield himself.

“Ah!! Hahah!” the dragon laughed, only to yelp as Regina splashed him as well.

“Gotcha!” Prompto laughed.

Noctis growled a little before he turned back on his sister, splashing her yet again.

Prompto then smirked, before quietly getting into a crouching position while Noctis was distracted. Then he pounced on the dragon, clinging to his back with a triumphant laugh.

“Hey whoa!!” Noctis yowled, stumbling forward before he yelped as both he and Prompto fell forward and into the water.

Once they surfaced, Prompto was laughing at Noctis’s reaction, backing off as he continued to laugh.

After spluttering briefly, Noctis growled. “You jerk!!” he growled, out.

“What? I was having fun!” Prompto pouted.

Suddenly…

“Rah!” Regina roared as she suddenly shoved Prompto down and back under.

“Ack!” the blonde choked out as he was, struggling against Regina’s hand. Thankfully, the dragon let him get back up after only a little bit. “Rude!” Prompto pouted when he resurfaced.

Regina, however, merely chuckled with a small smirk.

“…At least you’re finally having fun, so I can’t complain,” the blonde sighed with a shrug, before smiling.

Noctis chuckled softly – right before he splashed at Prompto. And the moment he looked over to counter, Regina splashed him as well.

“H-hey!” Prompto spluttered. “No fair!”

“Don’t see you stopping us~” Noctis said with a laugh.

The blonde pouted, before tackling Noctis into the water again.

“BWAH!” Noctis yowled just as they went under.

However, when they went underwater, the landing had Prompto accidentally pressing his lips to Noctis’s underwater, making the blonde’s bright blue eyes widen in shock. The dragon, in turn, looked at Prompto in slight surprise of his own, before he broke away as air became an issue and quickly resurfaced.

Prompto quickly backed away, blushing brightly as he gasped for air.

Upon spotting the blonde’s face, Regina frowned and moved over, poking at his cheeks. The action made Prompto jolt, startled, before he stared at her.

“…what’s with your face?”

“Uh-um…” the blonde stuttered, unsure of how to answer, considering what had happened.

“It’s probably just the heat, Regina,” Noctis said, not the least bit affected apparently. “Iggy said humans are more susceptible to heat.”

“…Ah, right.”

Prompto blinked at the words, before settling somewhat, but he was also somehow…disappointed, for some reason.

“We should probably go, then,” Regina said suddenly. “Iggy’s probably fixing lunch anyway…”

“Probably. Let’s go.

Prompto nodded in agreement, climbing out and scooping up his clothes before following after the siblings to leave.

Once they had dried themselves off, the two dragons shifted into dragon form. Noctis regarded Prompto briefly before he settled down. Prompto, however, didn’t look much at Noctis as he climbed onto the dragon’s back.

Though this clearly worried the dragon, he didn’t say anything as he instead took to the air, following after his sister and back to the Citadel.

As they headed back, Prompto couldn’t help but reflect on the accidental kiss they’d shared earlier. Apparently, Noctis wasn’t even affected by it, but it certainly left an imprint on the blonde’s mind.

Noctis, meanwhile, wondered about Prompto’s odd behavior. He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t mentioned to Regina what had happened when Prompto had tackled him into the water, but he somehow felt compelled to not do it. He figured it had to do something with Prompto being embarrassed (for some reason) because of what happened. …whatever that had been. He’d seen humans pressing their mouths together before, but he wasn’t entirely sure what it meant. Maybe he could ask Ignis later… he had a feeling Prompto wouldn’t take the question too well.

Once they arrived the Citadel, flying in through one of the windows for once, Regina immediately shifted back, while Noctis waited a bit to let Prompto get off.

The blonde slid off, still keeping quiet, before briefly looking to Noctis. When he did, the dragon tilted his head curiously, blinking. However, Prompto had already focused his gaze on the floor.

“…?” Noctis frowned a bit as he shifted back, briefly rotating his shoulders. “Okay, let’s go see Ignis.”

“Let’s,” Regina agreed, nodding as she began to walk.

The blonde trailed after, lost in thought still.

As they reached the kitchen/dining area, Ignis was, sure enough, already working on lunch. “Hey Ignis,” Noctis called out drawing the human’s attention.

“Ah, good afternoon, you three. Had fun?”

“Eh. So-so,” Regina said with a shrug.

Prompto nodded softly, keeping quiet.

“Well, take a seat, I’m almost done.”

“Thanks, Iggy,” Noctis said casually as they walked over to their usual seats.

Prompto took his seat silently.

As Noctis settled, he finally decided that enough was enough and reached over to lightly kick Prompto to his knee.

“Huh?” the blonde uttered, jumping in a startled manner.

“You okay? Heat still bothering you?” Noctis asked, genuinely concerned now.

“Kinda, yeah…” Prompto mumbled, lying. He wasn’t about to tell the dragon why.

“…want me to get you something?”

The blonde was about to shake his head “no”, but then he got another splitting headache, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Prom!?” Noctis cried out, as he hurried over to the blonde’s side.

“Ah…another…damn headache…” Prompto grit out, grabbing at his head.

Frowning, Noctis reached out and lightly rubbed the pads of his claws over the blonde’s head. “Need me to get some aspin?”

“You mean…aspirin?” Prompto chuckled out weakly, before flinching. “Just… I need _something_ for this headache…not sure what…”

“Right… I’ll be right back!” the dragon said, before he scampered off, probably to get the fruit he’d gotten Prompto before.

Once Noctis left, Prompto shifted his position so his head was between his knees, now feeling nauseous.

As he did that, there was suddenly a cool hand that came down on his head, with another hand coming to rest on his stomach, just under his ribs. And as they rested there, soft, cool waves washed over him from the points of contact.

The blonde nearly jolted, before he raised his head to see Regina in front of him, her hands on him. He was honestly surprised she was helping, as the pain in his head and the nausea faded.

Though she seemed to realize this, Regina didn’t move her hands just yet, leaving her hands where they were, until Noctis came running back with the fruit. “Here,” he said as his sister moved aside, and he held out the fruit to Prompto.

“Thank you…both of you…” Prompto murmured, before eating the fruit and sighing in relief as the headache’s residual pain vanished. “Regina, what was that you were doing…?”

“…oh that?” Regina asked, before she shrugged. “Magic.”

“Really? I didn’t think dragons could use magic…” Prompto admitted.

“Most don’t,” Ignis said as he approached with their food. “Most are content with simple breath attacks. The only dragons that know how to use magic are the Black and White Dragons.” After setting the plates down, the human put his hand on Prompto’s forehead. “Are you sure you are alright?”

“Yeah, I am now,” Prompto fibbed, giving a small, convincing smile. After all, he still wasn’t exactly eager to talk about the accidental kiss with Noctis.

Ignis, however, seemed to notice that something was up, though he didn’t mention it. “Alright,” he said instead as he stood up. “Just try eating something for now.”

“Will do. Thanks, Ignis,” Prompto nodded, before beginning to eat.

Noctis nodded as he and Regina moved to eat their own lunch, which was some sort of sandwich with plenty of meat on it. Noctis, however, spent a few moments to pick off some of the pickles on it.

As he ate, Prompto thought about his sudden headache and the nausea he’d experienced. He’d never been sick in his life, luckily enough, but for things to make him feel sick at this point in his life? It was definitely strange.

Just as they finished their food, though, a roar echoed through the air outside, one that made both black dragons look up in surprise.

“Who is it?” Prompto asked.

“That’s Niche…”

“I hope everything’s okay, if she’s back without Valanx…” the blonde murmured.

“…She’s probably got some news to tell Father… while Valanx figures the rest out…”

Regina hummed. “That’s usually how that works with them…”

“Gotcha,” Prompto nodded, getting up. “Maybe we should go see what they found out?”

“…We could… but I don’t think Father would appreciate it…” Regina murmured. “If it’s important, he’ll probably call for us.”

“Fair enough…” the human sighed.

However, before they could even stand up or offer to head to their caverns, another roar echoed the halls that had the two siblings flinching briefly.

“…Speaking of…” Noctis mumbled.

“I take it Regis wants us, huh?” Prompto guessed.

“Yep, let’s go,” Noctis said with a nod as they stood up.

“Right behind you.”

 

It barely took them a few minutes to get up to the Alpha’s cavern, and when they arrived, Niche was still there, crouched down in respect for both the Alpha and his blood.

“Father, what happened?” Noctis asked as they stepped inside.

“Hm… it seems like there was truth to what you claimed, Regina…” Regis said firmly.

“…!! You found him…?” Regina asked, a deep frown on her face.

“…We do not have all the proof yet…” Niche admitted, a frown of her own on her face. “But there is one… one of the council who _reeks_ … of the Empire… I believe they called him ‘Ardyn Izunia’.”

“Oh, Ardyn?” Prompto frowned. “Honestly, that doesn’t surprise me, given the rumors surrounding him. He’s the newest member of the council, and also the most influential. He took the place of Riku’s father in the council after he…committed suicide. But Ardyn arrived in Galahd about 4 years ago, and is thought to be creepy by a lot of the kids in the village. Even some of the young teens don’t feel right about him. There’s something…just flat-out unsettling about him. Especially if he takes a shine to you. He tried to get close to me for some reason when I was 17, but I threatened to report him to the elder and council at the time, so he backed off. He eventually joined the council 2 years ago.”

“…? Why would he take a shine to you?” Noctis asked, tilting his head. “Did you do something weird?”

“No, I don’t know why he took a shine to me, but it scared me, to be completely honest. I didn’t--and still don’t--want anything to do with him,” Prompto mumbled.

“Hm… Prompto, you mentioned this ‘Riku’ did you not?” Regis asked suddenly. “Niche has mentioned this boy as well… and he has offered his assistance in this matter.”

“That’s good to hear,” Prompto smiled. “Riku’s incredibly trustworthy. If someone shares a secret with him, you can count on him to keep it, no matter what. Him and his boyfriend Sora are good people.”

“Huh… okay… if you say so…”

Regina clenched her fists firmly. “So… what… what now?” she asked.

“Tomorrow, I want you and Noctis to accompany Niche into the village… unnoticed,” Regis said firmly. “Until all proof is found, steady your blade. Understood?”

“…Yes sir.”

“Will do.”

“Shouldn’t I come with?” Prompto asked with a small frown.

Regis hummed thoughtfully. “I cannot force you to stay behind… however, I do not wish to put you in any potential danger. We still do not know for certain how deep the Empire’s influence runs…”

“It may help, though…” Prompto murmured. “And I can fight if needed. I’ll be okay.”

“Hmm… in that case, you may go with them.”

“Thank you, Regis,” Prompto told the Alpha gratefully, bowing his head slightly out of respect.

“Regina, Noctis,” the Alpha called to his young. “This will be your first time among humans. I expect you to behave and listen to Niche and Prompto for guidance. Are we clear?”

“Yes, of course, sir,” Regina said solemnly, while Noctis nodded and said: “Got it.”

Prompto smiled faintly at them in reassurance.

“Meet with Niche first thing in the morning by the Wall. For now, you are dismissed.”

The two dragons bowed politely, before they began to leave the room, with Noctis tugging Prompto along.

Prompto followed after, falling into step with Noctis.

As they walked, Noctis hummed softly. “…hey, Regina? Do you wanna do some training for tomorrow?”

“…” Regina frowned thoughtfully. “…I guess that would help…”

“Mind if I watch?” Prompto asked.

“…Sure,” Regina mumbled as they headed toward the elevator.

“Thanks,” the blonde nodded as he followed after.

 

It took them a little to get to the training rooms below. The room they entered was massive, however, Prompto couldn’t see any weapons for sparring anywhere.

“So…how do you guys train without weapons…?” Prompto asked curiously. “I know you can practice as dragons, but I’m sure that’s not the only way you fight.”

Noctis blinked a few times, before he chuckled and adjusted his stance, tapping Prompto on the shoulder with his tail… or more specifically the flat of the blade attached to the tip.

“Oh…” the blonde uttered, feeling stupid. “Sorry…”

Noctis laughed briefly, before he reached out for his own tail and grabbed hold of the area where the hilt would’ve been had the blade been an actual sword – and before Prompto’s eyes the scales on Noct’s limbs began to pull back into his arms, leaving behind pale skin as his tail detached from the blade and his wings and horns retracted into his back and head respectively.

“Wow…” Prompto murmured, awed. “Never seen you as full human yet.”

“Never really had to,” Noctis said, shrugging as he adjusted the leather jacket his wings had turned into. “Kinda weird feeling, though…”

“Still,” Prompto shrugged.

“Gotta get used to it for a little bit for tomorrow.”

“Yeah, last thing you want is to be gawking when we head into the village,” Regina pointed out, and when he looked over, he saw that she, too, had shifted into full human form. Like Noctis, she was dressed in some leather pants, black dress shirt and leather jacket, and she carried a hefty blade in hand, resting on her shoulder at the moment. “Better get ready, Noct,” she warned softly.

“Heh… Prom, mind stepping aside?” Noctis asked of the blonde.

“Not at all,” the human nodded, before moving off to the side.

Noctis nodded his thanks as he adjusted his stance briefly – right before he suddenly threw his blade toward Regina. The other dragon swiftly brought up her blade to block it, and the moment the blades connected, Noctis was right there, hands on the hilt of his blade as he pushed forward.

Prompto’s jaw dropped in shock, and his eyes widened as he watched attentively.

Regina scoffed as she threw Noctis away with a single swing of her own sword, right before she threw her own sword and warped right at him as well. And from there it was like a dance between the two of them, blades clashing with metallic clangs and occasionally warping in and out of range.

As the blonde watched from the sidelines, he felt a little jealous of their skills. But he didn’t dwell too much on it, instead watching in amazement.

The dance between the two siblings continued on like that for what felt like hours, and neither of the two looked ready to give in under any circumstances.

‘ _How long are they gonna keep this up for…?_ ’ Prompto thought to himself. He then looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps, and saw Gladio coming over to watch, it seemed.

The two siblings clearly hadn’t noticed Gladio just yet, as Regina jumped back from Noctis’ swing, before she spun on her heel and slashed out for his head. And Noctis swiftly ducked under the hit before he slashed upward.

“They’re not messing around today,” Gladio mumbled as he watched.

“Really? They’re normally not this intense?” Prompto asked.

“No, not normally. Typically, they’re more relaxed. It must be because of tomorrow,” the brunette murmured.

Regina snarled as she blocked another swing from Noctis, before she lashed out and basically threw him across the floor, where he landed with a yelp.

“All right, that’s enough for now,” Gladio called, interrupting them.

“Eh? Oh, hey Gladio,” Noctis called out as he pushed up.

“Hey to you, too,” the larger dragon chuckled. “Take a break, both of you. You two are a bit too intense right now.”

“Ugh… but we were just getting started!” Regina whined.

“Too bad. You know what happens when you both get too intense: it gets ugly,” Gladio pointed out. “Take a break.”

Regina grumbled a little bit, before she said. “Fiiiiine…”

“Thank you,” the brunette nodded, and Prompto approached as well.

“How can you guys warp like that?” he asked.

Noctis blinked, before looking over to Regina. Then, they smirked and said as one “Magic.”

“Ooooof course,” the blonde replied, rolling his eyes, but he was smiling nonetheless.

Noctis merely chuckled as he threw his hand to the side – at which point his weapon disappeared in a burst of crystalline sparks. And Regina did the same only a moment later.

“Just curious, do you guys know if the white dragons could do that stuff, too?” Prompto asked, genuinely curious.

“Uh… did they, Regina?”

“…I think White dragons focused more on healing… Luna did…”

“‘Luna’?”

“Ah… Ravus’ sibling,” Noctis explained.

“Oh… Sorry…” Prompto murmured.

“It’s fine,” Noctis said with a shake of his head. “So… wanna go back up and just take it easy for a bit?”

“Sounds good,” the blonde smiled.

“You coming, too, Regina?” the younger dragon asked of his sibling.

“…Nah. I’ll pass for now… might come up later.”

“Ah… okay.”

“Okay. See you later?” Prompto said.

“…Sure…”

Noctis nodded briefly, before he started walking out of the room.

The human was quick to follow, and once they were in the elevator, he asked, “Do you think Regina will be okay?”

“…I’m not sure…” the dragon admitted. “I think… this is probably the closest she’s ever felt to the one who… yanno…”

“Yeah… I gotcha…” Prompto sighed. “Hopefully she can get her revenge.”

“Hopefully… maybe she’ll have some peace of mind then…” Noctis added as they headed up to Noct’s cavern.

“Yeah,” the blonde agreed.

Once they were inside, Noctis hummed in thought. “Okay… you wanna take a nap? I’m prolly gonna need it for when Regina wants to get back to training.

“Sure,” Prompto chuckled, toeing off his boots as he spoke before heading over to the dragon’s nest.

“…? Hey Prom?” Noctis asked suddenly. “Why do you keep taking your boots off?”

“Huh? Oh, because I’d rather sleep with them off. Not very comfortable to sleep with them on,” the blonde replied.

“Isn’t it?” the dragon asked, looking down to the boots that now covered his own feet.

“Try sleeping with your boots on. Hard to get comfortable,” Prompto chuckled.

“Okay?” Noctis tilted his head, before he got into the nest, going to his usual sleeping area.

Prompto climbed in as well, curling up in his spot in the nest with a yawn.

After a few moments of just lying there, Noctis began to wriggle about. “…this is uncomfortable,” he pointed out.

“Told you,” the blonde snickered.

“No, not the boots alone,” the black dragon huffed as he sat up and began to tug off his jacket.

Prompto laughed softly at his friend’s reaction, but that didn’t last long as Noctis then moved to remove his shirt as well. The blonde nearly choked on his own laughter, before quickly rolling over and turning away.

“Honestly… how do humans sleep with all this fabric?” Noctis grumbled as he tossed his shirt on Prompto’s head, before he began to work on the pants, shimmying out of them.

“Hey, I manage,” Prompto managed to get out, still somehow sounding normal as he pulled Noctis’s shirt off of his head.

“I guess,” Noct mumbled, as he tossed the pants off to the edge of the nest. Then he flopped down in the nest and hummed. “Better…”

Prompto still refused to look over at the dragon, fairly damn certain the raven wasn’t covered with any clothing by now.

“…you okay?”

“Yeah, just tired,” the blonde lied.

“…you sure?” the dragon asked, scooting over before plopping his head on the blonde’s shoulder. “You’ve been acting really weird since we left the springs.”

Prompto nearly tensed at the contact, but managed to remain relaxed by some miracle. “I’m fine, Noct,” he insisted, not exactly pleased that the reminder was given.

“…okay… if you say so…” Noctis murmured, as he moved over and settled there against Prompto lazily.

As he did, Prompto realized he wasn’t feeling any part of Noctis’s… “bits and bobs”, which made him feel a little better, but the fact that the raven was completely nude against him…it was a bit unsettling.

“…hm?” Noctis hummed suddenly. “…your heart’s going really fast…” he suddenly pointed out.

‘ _DAMMIT!!_ ’ Prompto cried out in his head in frustration. “I’m okay,” he lied again.

“…” Unfortunately, this time Noctis didn’t seem prepared to let it slide. “…why are you lying to me, Prom?”

Biting his lip, Prompto finally sighed, before sitting up. “I just don’t get it…!” he groaned. “How can you act like everything’s fine after we kissed like that at the hot springs?!”

“…?? ‘Kissed’? Is that what you call that??” Noctis asked as he sat up as well.

“Yes! Kissing is usually an act of affection or love with humans!” Prompto snapped, before looking away unhappily.

“…Oh…” Noctis murmured. However, it took a moment before that fully registered, and then his eyes widened. “O-oh… I uh… I-I see…” he coughed out.

That… was unexpected. He hadn’t expected something like that to be something that was meant to display affection to humans. Maybe he really should’ve asked that of Ignis before. Then again, he hadn’t been expecting to be in _this_ situation at all.

“Yeah. _Now_ do you get why I wasn’t keen on talking about it?” the blonde muttered, before lying back down with his back to Noctis.

“…um… sorry…? I… didn’t mean to--”

“I know, I just… That was my first kiss…” Prompto mumbled, frustrated. “I’ve never kissed anyone before that…”

“…well…” Noctis murmured as he moved over and put his chin on Prompto’s shoulder. “…it was mine, too,” he pointed out.

“I’m sure it was, considering you’re not human…” Prompto sighed. “…I wanted my first kiss to be special, and hopefully with the person I’d spend the rest of my life with…”

“…is it really that important to humans?”

“Not everyone, but it was for me…”

“…I’m sorry…”

“…I know…” the blonde whispered, trying to fight off the oncoming tears of frustration.

“…maybe…” the dragon suddenly murmured.

“Hm…?”

“…if I did something similar… but for dragons… would that make it okay?”

“…What would that be…?”

“Um… wait…” Noctis mumbled as he moved back a little, before he moved his fingers along the back of Prompto’s neck, moving his hair away.

“What are you doing…?” Prompto asked, turning slightly to look at him.

“Gimme a moment…” the dragon said, keeping Prompto from turning his head all the way, before he tipped his head down and lightly raked his teeth along the back of the blonde’s neck, nibbling lightly.

The action drew goosebumps along Prompto’s skin, making him nearly jolt.

Noctis kept that up for a few moments, before he pulled back again. “There.”

“Wha…?”

“That’s… how we do it,” Noct admitted. “Normally we bite down… but that’s when you choose to stay together forever.”

“O-oh…” Prompto stammered, unsure of what else to say.

“…you okay now?”

“…Yeah, better now,” the blonde murmured, turning over and looking up at Noctis with a small smile.

Noctis smiled in return, before he finally laid back down. “Hm… good…” he murmured.

This time, Prompto settled against Noctis quietly, closing his eyes to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick question, by the way; we actually ended up putting some explicit Cloud/Zack chapters in here. Do you want to see that or would you prefer I separate them from this one as extra chapters?


	14. Returning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because that's also important.

The following day, Riku headed out alone while Valanx went to train with Cloud again, the silverette seeking out Dino, his father’s friend on the council. Dino wasn’t easily influenced like the rest of the council, and he seemed to be the only one who didn’t care much for Ardyn’s ideas. When he got to Dino’s house, he knocked on the door, and the man soon answered, smiling at the sight of Riku.

“Heya Riku! How’s my favorite godson?” he asked with a chuckle, making Riku snort with a small smile.

“I’m your only godson, Dino,” he replied. “But I’ve been good. In fact, I actually have a favor to ask… Mind if I come in?”

“Not at all. Anything for you, man,” Dino said, stepping aside to let Riku in. “Have a seat in the living room. You want some coffee or tea?”

“Nah, I’m good. Thank you, though,” the silverette smiled as he sat down on the loveseat.

“No worries, kid,” his godfather chuckled, sitting in the armchair. “So, what’s this favor you have for me, eh?”

“I was hoping you can find some evidence to prove that Ardyn’s working with the Empire,” Riku said.

“…You know that’s asking a lot, right?” Dino asked seriously after a moment.

“I know, but I need to find out. Especially with the recent events with the council trying to convince the village to make peace with the Empire,” Riku insisted. “Trust me, if you can find the evidence, then I can take care of the rest.”

“…All right. I’ll do what I can, especially for you, Riku. You’re a good kid,” Dino murmured. “Just be careful with whatever you have planned, a’ight?”

“I will, Dino. Thanks a ton,” the silverette smiled gratefully. “I’d best go, before Ardyn suspects something. I know he’s sharp.”

“You got that right, kiddo.”

“See you around, Dino.”

“See ya, kid.”

As Riku headed back to Cloud’s place to check on him and Valanx, he heard something in the distance, but he couldn’t really place the sound or where it had actually come from.

“Hm?” the teen hummed, before heading out to the source of the sound to investigate.

He didn’t get far out of the village, as he spotted Niche walking over down the path… but this time she was joined by three other people. One of which was very familiar.

“Prompto?!” he gasped. “What are you doing here?”

“Easy, Riku, everything’s fine. I’m helping out,” the blonde smiled. “Thanks for helping Niche and Valanx, by the way. This should hopefully help to settle things.”

“Well, I already spoke to Dino about getting his help, and I was on my way to Cloud’s to check on him and Valanx,” Riku said.

“What’s Valanx doing at Cloud’s?”

“Training.”

“Ah.”

“…? Really?” Noctis wondered, curiously tilting his head.

Regina didn’t bother to say anything, and Niche merely snorted softly.

“He’s pretty damn good, actually,” Riku chuckled. “So, who are these two, Prompto?”

“This is Noctis, and this is Regina. They’re brother and sister,” the blonde replied.

“Nice to meet you both,” Riku greeted with a small smile.

“Nice to meet you… Riku, right?” Noctis said with a small nod.

“Yep, you got it,” Riku smiled.

While Noctis nodded, Regina, again, refused to say anything.

“Regina, he’s fine, I promise,” Prompto assured her.

“…hmph.”

The blonde merely sighed, but Riku shrugged.

“It’s okay. I don’t expect everyone to be trusting right off the bat,” he said. “Let’s go see Cloud and Valanx.”

“Sounds good,” Prompto nodded.

And with that, the small group headed into town to see the two men. And, when they arrived, the pair was once again busy training ferociously.

“Geez, Valanx is really good…” Prompto commented softly.

“He should be…” Noctis mumbled.

“Even Cloud seemed impressed by him yesterday,” Riku told them.

Regina, though, didn’t join in on the conversation. Instead, she frowned as she watched Cloud’s movements as he and Valanx trained.

Prompto noticed how she seemed focused on Cloud’s movements, and he looked at her curiously before asking quietly: “What’s wrong, Regina?”

“…the way he moves…” she murmured.

“What about it?”

“…something’s… off about it…”

“What do you mean?”

However, before Regina could answer…

“PROMPTO!!” Sora’s voice cried out excitedly, as the brunette pounced onto the blonde with a hug.

“Hey, Sora,” Prompto smiled. “What are you doing out here?”

“We came to check in on Cloud!” Sora grinned as Zack joined them.

“Prompto? Why are you back here?” Zack asked. “Not saying that’s bad… but why?”

“Long story,” the blonde replied with a shrug.

“Okay… if you say so,” Zack said slowly, before he spotted Noctis and Regina, the former of which was watching him quietly. “Oh, hey. Friends of yours, Prompto?”

“Yeah. These two are Noctis and Regina,” Prompto said.

“Ah. Nice to meet you both,” Zack said with a nod.

“Pleasure,” Noctis said with a nod.

“Hiya! I’m Sora!” Sora chirped with grin as he let go of Prompto.

“…” Noctis regarded Sora quietly, an almost dry look on his face, while Regina didn’t even bother to look up. And then, without warning, Noctis reached out and poked Sora to his shoulder.

The brunette blinked, a bit startled, before looking at Noctis in confusion.

“Payback,” was the simple response.

Sora blinked a few more times, before he grinned. “I remember you now!” he laughed.

“Good,” the dragon said with a chuckle, before he grunted as Regina suddenly jabbed her elbow into her brother’s side. “Hey!”

“Noctis.”

“Hm?”

“…look at him for a minute…”

Noctis blinked and turned to look at Cloud and Valanx, who were still going at it. “…what? Valanx?”

“…the other guy… his face…”

Confused, Noctis frowned as he leaned over on the fence, trying to see what his sister was seeing. “…wait wha?!”

“…Valanx must’ve noticed, too…”

“What are you talking about?” Prompto frowned, confused as hell now.

“…wa…watch Cloud…”

“O…kay…?” the blonde murmured, before looking at the other blonde and watching him.

As Prompto focused on Cloud, just as the blonde leaped away from another one of Valanx’s swings, he blinked his eyes once… and then Prompto realized that his irises seemed to be much brighter than he remembered them to be… as if they were glowing.

“Holy…” Prompto breathed, before looking at the siblings. “What do you think this means?”

“I think… maybe…” Noctis began, but he cut himself off as he suddenly sniffed at the air -- and then a dark frown appeared on his face. And when Regina’s expression shifted in the same way as she took a breath of her own, Prompto had a feeling what was wrong… especially when Regina started growling softly.

“Easy, Regina…” he soothed, placing a calming hand on each of the siblings’ shoulders.

The girl in question took a deep, heavy breath, nodding briefly as Noctis reached out and took hold of her hand, squeezing firmly as he shifted his gaze.

Prompto looked up as well, narrowing his eyes slightly as he did, having a bad feeling who was approaching.

And sure enough, there was Ardyn Izunia, walking almost casually and humming as if it was just another beautiful day. However, as soon as he actually took notice of Prompto, he hummed curiously with a cocked eyebrow. “My my…” he said with a chuckle. “What a pleasant surprise… Have the dragons permitted you some free time, Prompto?”

“Yes,” Prompto replied coolly. “I asked to come home for a little bit to visit.” As he spoke, he noticed Sora quietly tuck himself into Riku’s side, going quiet as he always did around Ardyn.

Meanwhile, Regina was struggling against a furious glare, as her hand clenched around her brother’s, and the other dragon remained silent, though he, too, was frowning. Certainly not as badly as his sister, but it was definitely evident he wasn’t in a good mood.

“Hmm? And I see you’ve brought new friends… also from the Holy Land, then?” Ardyn asked as he adjusted his hat.

“Yes. Some humans reside there to help out with certain things,” Prompto nodded, lying about the siblings being dragons. Last thing they needed was for their cover to be blown.

“Oh really?” the redhead questioned, sounding very interested. “How interesting… hmm… perhaps it would do to have a chat later, then, hm?”

“…” Noctis merely watched him in absolute silence.

“I think we’ll pass this time, Mr. Izunia,” Prompto said calmly. “We won’t be here long, and I’d like to visit with my friends.”

“Aahhh, I see… Understandable. Maybe later, then.”

‘More like never, at least until we find our proof of what you’ve done,’ the blonde thought irritably, resisting the urge to glare. “Maybe.”

Ardyn merely chuckled, and tipped his head. “Well then… good day,” he said simply, before he walked away.

Once he was gone, Prompto sighed in relief. “Geez, he always creeps me out…”

“I know what you mean,” Sora murmured. Prompto nodded in agreement, before looking to Regina.

“Are you going to be okay, Regina?” he asked worriedly.

“…” Regina didn’t say anything; she merely bit down on her bottom lip with a small growl.

“We’ll get ‘im. Don’t worry too much, okay?” he soothed, lightly squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.

“Um… she okay?” Zack asked – only to get whacked across the head, making him yowl.

“…leave ‘r alone…” Cloud mumbled simply.

Prompto cast the other blonde a grateful look before addressing Zack. “She’ll be okay. I think I’m gonna take these two back to my place. We’ll see you all later, kay?”

“Okay. See you, Prompto!” Sora smiled.

Noctis merely nodded to the group, before he followed after Prompto, tugging his sister after him. Niche remained, though, as Valanx came over and murmured something to her. As the trio left, though, Cloud watched them go in silence… and as he blinked, his pupils seemed to shudder briefly.

When they got to Prompto’s house, the blonde shut and locked the door behind them, and shut the windows before sighing as he sat down in the arm chair. “Go ahead and make yourselves at home, guys,” he told the pair. “After all, I have a feeling we’re gonna be staying here until we get our proof with Riku’s and Dino’s help.”

“…probably…” Noctis murmured, looking around silently.

“But it’s probably for the best, really,” Prompto admitted. “After all, I have a feeling this won’t be easy, and that things might get a little ugly before we can properly confront him.”

“You think…?” Noctis murmured, as he walked over and tugged his sister with him to sit on the couch.

“Unfortunately, yeah…” the blonde murmured. “Ardyn’s very…’convincing’, when it comes to getting what he wants. I have a feeling that’s how he ended up in the council in the first place. It gives him a position of power in Galahd.”

“…so… the council is like a group of Alphas?” Noctis asked, still squeezing his sister’s hand regularly.

“In a sense, yes. They also determine what the elder can and can’t do. And right now, with Ardyn part of the council, the elder has no say in trying to make peace with the Empire,” Prompto grumbled, holding his head in his hands. “Granted, the elder would typically have the final say, but with that bastard Ardyn being so influential and conniving, there’s nothing he can do.”

“…that’s not good…”

“No, it’s not… But hopefully, Dino can find some proof before anything happens.”

“…and Dino is… a friend, right?” Noctis asked slowly.

“He’s a member of the council, and a very good person. He’s actually Riku’s godfather, and took care of Riku for a while after his father’s suicide,” Prompto explained. “So yes, he’s a friend, and very trustworthy.”

“…Good.”

“Yeah. Riku’s not stupid, though. He wouldn’t have asked Dino if he didn’t trust him,” Prompto assured, before getting to his feet. “Do you guys want anything to eat or drink?”

“…” Noctis glanced over to Regina, who still hadn’t moved. “…Yeah, might be smart.”

“Anything in particular sound good?”

“Just… anything will do for now.”

“All right. In that case, I’ll need to go to my friend Cindy’s house for some stuff, since my food is more than likely rotten by now,” Prompto told them, before heading to the door. “Will you two be okay here? Or would you like to come with?”

“We’ll be fine…” Noctis assured. “We’ll just wait here.”

“Kay. I won’t be long, since she doesn’t live far from here. See you soon.” And with that, he left.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for Prompto to reach Cindy’s house, and, when he got there, he immediately spotted her working the fields.

“Hi Cindy!” he called, waving.

As soon as he shouted that, the blonde looked up in surprise. And once she saw him, she smiled brightly. “Prompto!” she nearly shouted as she ran over. The second he was in range, she flew at him in a hug. “So good ta have ya back, hun!” she laughed. “How are ya doin’?”

“I’ve been pretty good, Cin,” Prompto smiled, hugging her back. “How about you?”

“I’ve been good, hun,” she said with a smile as she pulled back. “Why’re you back, though?”

Prompto hesitated, before saying in a hushed voice: “Let’s take this inside, first. I’ll explain in private.”

That clearly caught Cindy’s interest, and she nodded before leading Prompto to her house.

Once inside, Prompto sat down at the dining table with her. “So, I’m actually back for a bit, kinda on a job,” he told her. “Mind you, this stays secret between us.”

“Of course, hun,” Cindy assured. “What’s going on?”

“There’s high suspicion that Ardyn’s working with the Empire.”

“What?!?!”

“Yeah. Riku’s asked Dino to find some solid proof, but…both Noctis and his sister, Regina, who are back at my house right now, can smell a strong metallic scent throughout Galahd, and especially on Ardyn,” Prompto murmured.

“Wha… what do you mean they can ‘smell’ it?”

“They’re dragons.”

“EH?!”

“Shh!” Prompto shushed in an urgent tone, glancing at the window. “They’re here in human form, and no one knows but us, Riku, and the other newcomers, if you’ve heard about them yet. They’re also dragons, but they started the job of finding out the source of the metal smell in Galahd. Remember, we need to keep this secret.”

“I-I see… but… is that why the dragons were so angry with us?”

“Yeah. Regina, the one who was attacking, has a…bad past with the Empire, and thought Galahd was associated. It’s been cleared up now, but that’s why we’re here now.”

“Okay… cool,” Cindy murmured, nodding. “So you’re staying around until you can figure it out, huh?”

“Yeah. Hopefully we’ll get this wrapped up quickly. Just…if you see them, don’t say anything about what I told you. I probably shouldn’t have said anything, but I trust you. I just don’t know if Noctis and Regina will feel the same just yet.”

“Don’t worry, hun. My lips are sealed.”

“Thanks, Cin. I also came by to ask, embarrassingly enough, if I could have some food? My stuff’s definitely rotten by now, and we’ll need to get some groceries tomorrow, but for today, that’d be awesome.”

Cindy laughed at the almost sheepish request. “Alright, hun. But just this once, ya hear me?”

“I understand,” Prompto smiled. “Thanks again, Cindy. You’re the best.”

“Oh I know~” the girl chuckled.

 

When Prompto got back, he had the food Cindy gave him in one hand in a bag, and he called out, “Hey guys, I’m back.”

Noctis looked up from where he sat on the couch, still, with his sister now curled up against his side with her head in his lap, seemingly asleep.

“Hey,” he said in greeting.

“I take it she fell asleep?” the blonde asked softly.

“Yeah… I got her to sleep to try and calm down…”

“Good idea…” Prompto nodded. “I hope she’ll be okay while we’re all here… Otherwise things might go wrong…”

“Here’s hoping… thus far she’s doing okay…”

“Fair enough,” the human conceded. “Well, I’m gonna make some lunch for us. Cindy didn’t mind giving us some food for today, but we’ll need to go to the market tomorrow for some groceries.”

“Market…?”

“Yeah. It’s where humans sell different foods and various goods and supplies at different stalls. I’ll need some fresh food to make meals for us while we’re in town,” Prompto explained.

“Ooooh,” Noctis said with a nod.

“Yep, so you guys get to come with, especially to pick out anything that looks particularly good to you,” the blonde smiled. “I may not cook as well as Ignis, but I can definitely cook.”

“Okay, sounds good.”

“Oh, and as for sleeping arrangements, do you think Regina will mind taking my room? Or would she want to be with you or both of us?” Prompto asked. “Regardless, I have the space.”

“I think it’d be better if we stay together… that okay?”

“Absolutely. I understand, so we can sleep in my parents’ old room. I just need to wash the bedding, or it’ll be dusty as hell tonight,” the human replied, setting the bag of food in the kitchen before going down the hall to what used to be his parents’ room. He peeled the bedding off, and then headed to the laundry room to start washing it. When he came out, he added: “My parents’ bed is bigger than mine, so it’ll fit us all.”

“Okay. Sounds good.

“Now to make some lunch,” Prompto murmured as he headed to the kitchen.

As he cooked, he dug through the cabinets, checking for some tea that wasn’t bad, and he was pleasantly surprised to find some that was still good. So, he filled up the tea kettle with hot water and put in on the stove before turning on the burner. Once lunch was cooked and the tea was ready, he put everything on a tray and brought it out to the siblings.

“Here we go. This is a dish my mom would make when I would get depressed as a kid: Mother and Child Rice Bowl,” he said as he set the tray on the coffee table. “And I managed to find some tea that was still good, too.”

“…?? What’s tea?” Noctis asked as he lightly shook his sister’s shoulder, who snorted sleepily and blinked her eyes open.

“It’s a drink made with water and certain herbs,” Prompto explained. “I think you’ll like it.”

“Water and… herbs? That a vegetable?” Noct asked suspiciously as Regina sat up and yawned.

“Herbs are a plant, yes, but they have a pleasant taste and aroma. Trust me, okay?” Prompto smiled.

“…kay…” Noctis murmured, sounding more than a little worried as he took the cup, looking down to the liquid within.

“Hungry, Regina?” the blonde asked as he took his own bowl of food.

“…a bit…”

“Then go ahead and eat. It’ll help you feel a bit better,” Prompto smiled, sipping at his tea.

“…kay…” the dragon murmured softly, as she picked up the bowl while Noctis took a slow sip of his tea.

“Well?” Prompto asked Noctis. “Not bad, huh?”

“…Huh… I guess so…” Noctis murmured, taking a bigger sip, as Regina quietly began to eat.

“Told ya,” the blonde chuckled softly, taking a bite of his rice.

As Noctis put down his tea and picked up his own bowl, at which point he blinked and looked at the fork sticking out of it. “Hm?” Regina sighed heavily as she conked her own against his hand. “Ow!” he yelped, before he looked to his sister.

The other dragon merely lifted up the fork and pointedly scooped up some rice, which she then popped into her own mouth.

“…Oh!” Nodding, Noctis lifted up his fork and scooped up some rice as well.

“Yeah, humans eat with utensils, Noct,” the blonde snickered.

“So weird…” Noctis mumbled, popping the food in his mouth. And the moment he did he nearly yelped. “Dis’s gud!” he got out.

“Hey, I told you before, I can cook,” Prompto laughed.

Noctis nodded swiftly, as he quickly began to eat. Regina was a little slower, probably because she didn’t really feel like eating too much.

The blonde noticed this, and he set his bowl aside to gently nudge her tea towards her. “Take a drink of tea, Regina,” he urged. “It might help a little.”

“…” Regina didn’t say anything, but she did reach over to pick up her tea and take a sip.

“…a bit better?” Prompto asked kindly.

“…” Regina merely shrugged.

“What can we do to help?”

“……”

“…We’ll get him, Regina, I promise,” Prompto swore, reaching out and placing a hand on her knee.

“…”

Noctis paused in his own eating to watch his sister, before he scooted closer to press up against her.

“…thanks…” she murmured.

“Anytime,” the human smiled.

Regina merely nodded her head, but she said nothing else as she went back to eating quietly.

After they finished lunch, Prompto said: “How about I show you guys around town?”

“Sounds good. Right, Regina?”

“…I guess…”

“I think you’ll like it. Now, let’s go,” the blonde smiled, before getting to his feet again.

Regina didn’t bother to say anything as she stood up with Noctis.

 

Later on, they returned from the tour, all three tired enough to pass out right on the spot.

“Good thing I put the bedding in the drier before we left…” Prompto sighed as he kicked off his boots.

Regina hummed a bit, rubbing at her eyes quietly. “Ugh… yeah… I’m about ready to call it a day…” Noctis grumbled.

“Same here…” the blonde mumbled, heading to the laundry room to get the bedding out. He then trudged into his parents’ old room and made the bed. “All right, guys, let’s get some shuteye.”

“Sounds good,” Noctis said, as he led Regina over to climb in the bed with him and Prompto.

The blonde curled up with them under the covers, yawning tiredly as he closed his eyes. “G’night, Noct, Regina… See you both in the morning…”

“…hmm… g’night…” Noctis hummed lazily, while Regina merely snuggled up a little closer, breathing quietly.


	15. Deadly Premonition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes dreams are nothing special... sometimes...

_Prompto want sure what it was that woke him, but the next thing he knew, he woke up in some sort of meadow. One that he recognized from Insomnia._

_‘Huh…? What am I doing here…?’ he thought in confusion._

_“Rar!” came a sudden cry/roar as something suddenly flopped down over him._

_Prompto yelped, startled, before he looked at the source. And when he did, he quickly spotted a dark gray dragonling, with the beginning of horns along its cheeks, giggling as it flapped its wings._

_“Well hi there,” Prompto greeted with a smile. “Who are you?”_

_“Ama!” it chirped, with its tail wagging about behind it._

_“Nice to meet you, Ama. I’m Prompto,” the blonde chuckled. “Where are you parents?”_

_“‘Rounds!”_

_“Do you think you can take me to them?” Prompto asked._

_“…kays!” the small dragon chirped, hopping off and scampering around Prompto hyperly._

_The blonde laughed at the little dragon’s excitement, before following after it. The dragon was smiling happily, darting ahead of Prompto across the meadow, occasionally hopping in and out of the flowers. Prompto found Ama’s happiness and joy contagious, and he was smiling at the sight, laughing softly on occasion._

_After some walking, though, the dragon smiled happily and bounded forward. “Mama! Papa!!” it shouted, hurrying toward the two dragons that laid up ahead, curled together and sleeping peacefully._

_…one of which Prompto recognized._

_“Regina…?” he frowned in confusion. “What’s going on here?”_

_The large black dragon growled lazily as she lifted her head when the smaller dragon jumped on her back, scampering along. “…mm… Amare… what are you doing?”_

_“Pway wit’ us! C’mon! Le’s pway!!”_

_“Not now, sweetheart… later, okay?”_

_The blonde jolted, startled, before he decided to go with it, even if he was still confused as hell. “I’ll play with you, Ama,” he smiled._

_The small dragon whined a bit, before the other dragon -- a large white dragon -- moved over and pressed its snout against the small dragonling. “Go on, Amare. Go play… Mama needs some rest, okay?”_

_“Awww… kay, Papa…” the dragonling whine, climbing off of Regina._

_Prompto realized that the white dragon must be Ravus, which confused him even more. Weren’t Ravus and Amare both dead…? Again, though, he decided to shrug it off and go with it. “Come on, Ama, let’s go have fun,” he urged with a grin._

_“Okay…” the small dragon whined a bit._

_“Don’t worry, she’ll still be here when we get back,” the blonde assured._

_“…right!” the dragonling chirped, a big happy grin on its face, before it bounded off._

_Prompto laughed at Amare’s enthusiasm, before following after._

_However, that didn’t last long, as, suddenly, the dragonling hit something in the meadow, and it gave a terrified squeal as some sort of cage sprang up around it. “A-ah!? Ma-Mama!! Papa!!!” it squealed, trying to ram open the metal bars._

_“Amare! No!” Prompto shouted in a panic, running to the cage._

_The small dragon wailed as it tried to break free, obviously terrified, clawing at the bars and trying to slam into it to dent them._

_“Help! Someone, anyone, **help!!** ” the blonde screamed, looking all over the cage to try and figure out how to break Amare free._

_Amare let out another wail, and then slammed into the cage one more time. This time he actually broke through… but the moment he was out, he collapsed to the ground, blood pooling from wounds that Prompto hadn’t even seen, with his eyes white and empty. He also wasn’t breathing…_

_“AMARE!!” Prompto screamed in horror, collapsing to his knees before the dragonling, tears forming in his eyes at the horrific sight._

_The small dragonling was motionless in the blonde’s arms, with the blood staining both his skin and the ground beneath. As Prompto pulled Amare up against him, a metallic sound filled the air, and when he looked up, he spotted the multitude of MT soldiers striding over sluggishly._

_“ **No!** You can’t have him!!” Prompto shouted at them desperately, struggling to his feet in his current emotional state as he held Amare._

_The MT’s, of course, didn’t respond to the words as they lumbered closer. But then there was a familiar roar that echoed from above, right before a massive burst of fire that incinerated the majority of the MT’s. And barely a moment after, Regina slammed down in front of him, already shifted into her human form, blade in hand, right before she roared in rage and rushed for the remaining MT’s._

_The blonde watched her, feeing horrible, as she took them out. Her motions were swift and ferocious, with her eyes glowing a furious red in color. She was literally tearing everything in her sight to shreds, screaming and roaring out in pure, unadulterated rage._

_Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and then a scream, as the MT’s disappeared… and then Regina staggered back and collapsed to the ground._

_“REGINA!!” Prompto shouted, horrified._

_The dragon choked and wheezed, clawing at her stomach, small growling/whimpering sounds escaping her throat… before she slowly began to still…_

_“ **NO!!!** ” the blonde wailed, stumbling over to her as he still held Amare in his arms._

_When he reached her side, there was no denying the stab wound in her stomach, blood leaking out and painting the grass a blood red. Her expression was one of pain and anguish, with tears slipping from her eyes._

 

Prompto suddenly jolted awake, his eyes wide and a cold sweat soaking him, it felt like, as he tried to calm down from the events that had unfolded in his nightmare. Looking over at Regina, he really hoped beyond hope that his nightmare wasn’t some sort of horrible omen.

“…mm? Prom?” Noct mumbled as he peeked up at him. “…wha’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing…” the blonde managed to say, somehow sounding normal. “Let’s get back to sleep.”

“…you sure?” Noctis mumbled sleepily, though he looked and sounded ready to fall right back asleep.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Prompto assured him, lying back down.

“…mm… kay…” the dragon hummed, settled back against Prompto, breathing deeply in sleep.

The blonde closed his eyes as well, managing to fall back asleep despite his fears of another nightmare. He prayed to Bahamut as he fell back asleep that nothing horrible would befall any of them.

 

When morning came, Regina was the first to wake, and she groaned a bit as she rubbed at her eyes, before yawning widely. “Ugh…”

Prompto woke shortly after upon hearing her, blinking his eyes open and yawning widely before sitting up. “Morning, Regina,” he murmured.

“Hmmm… morning…” she grumbled softly.

“Want some breakfast?” he asked.

“Hmm… sure…

“Cool. I’ll get started on that, then. Mind getting Noct up while I get breakfast going?”

“Yeah, kay… shouldn’t take long…

“I’ll bet,” the blonde chuckled, sliding out of bed. “Come on out when you’re both up.”

“Hmhmm…” Regina hummed as she stretched out.

With that, Prompto headed out to the kitchen, where he decided to simply fix some pancakes, eggs, and bacon for breakfast, courtesy of Cindy’s food she’d provided. He soon had the bacon sizzling in a pan, and the pancake batter waiting to be poured onto the griddle, while the eggs sat on the counter, waiting to be fried.

As he worked on breakfast, he soon caught the sound of the two dragons coming over from the bedroom, with Noctis yawning loudly as he stretched his arms.

“Morning, Noct,” the blonde greeted as he began to ladle pancake batter onto the griddle.

“Mmmmorning…” the dragon yawned. “…what are you making?”

“Pancakes, bacon, and eggs. I hope you’re both hungry,” Prompto smiled.

“…? Pancakes??” Noctis asked curiously.

“…You mean that Ignis has never made you guys pancakes??” Prompto questioned in disbelief. “Okay, then you get to try mine today. I’m not even gonna explain. You just get to try them.”

“Okay…?” Noctis seemed a bit worried, but Regina just moved over to the couch to get herself comfortable, after which Noctis moved to join her.

“Don’t worry, there’s not a single veggie involved with this, Noct,” the blonde chuckled as he flipped the pancakes, and then began to fry up six eggs in a large pan, over easy.

“Good.”

“I know better, and besides, I wouldn’t sneak them in and risk you not trusting my cooking,” Prompto smirked, seasoning the eggs with salt and pepper before pulling the pancakes off and plating three for each of them, along with three strips of bacon and soon enough, the finished eggs. “All right, here we go, guys,” he smiled, bringing out the siblings’ plates first before getting his own and sitting in the armchair. “Let me know what you think.”

Noctis watched the pancakes curiously, lifting up one to try and figure out what it really was. In the end, though, he just tugged loose a bit of it and popped it in his mouth.

“Well?”

“…Fwuffy,” Noctis quipped with a mouthful of pancake, still.

“Hang on, I almost forgot!” the blonde said, setting his plate aside and hurrying back into the kitchen. He was quick to return, this time with maple syrup and butter in tow. “Here we go. Lemme put some butter and syrup on them. That’ll make ‘em even better.” He soon spread some butter on both of their pancakes, and then poured a drizzle of maple syrup on said food. “There we go!”

Naturally, Noctis looked at the new addition curiously, while Regina frowned a bit. The older dragon actually poked at the syrup, and gave a small gasp as the sticky liquid stuck to her finger.

“Don’t worry, it’s supposed to be sticky. It’s called syrup,” Prompto told them.

“‘Syrup’?” Regina repeated with a frown. “…I think Iggy said he wanted to get some of this stuff…”

“Wouldn’t surprise me. It’s good,” the blonde smiled, taking a bite of his pancakes after putting some butter and syrup on his own. “I’ll be sure to bring him back a bottle, then.”

Regina was about to say something, but just then, Noctis made a small pleased sound. “Dis ish tahsty!” he got out around a mouthful of pancake.

His sister sighed as she tore of a piece of her own food and put it in her own mouth. As soon as she did and the pancake hit her palate, though, she almost choked at the sudden explosion of taste hitting her, covering her mouth to keep herself from salivating.

“Good, huh?” Prompto smiled, somehow keeping himself from laughing.

Regina merely glared over her fingers at Prompto, before she went back to her breakfast without a word.

“Hey, it’s okay, Regina. I’m just glad you like it,” Prompto assured her.

Regina merely snorted softly, quietly finishing off her breakfast.

“So, do you two have any ideas for meals I can make for us while we’re here?” Prompto asked after swallowing a bite of his bacon. “That way I know what to look for while we’re at the market.”

“Uh… not really… maybe something Iggy hasn’t made yet?” Noctis offered.

“Well, what _has_ he made? That helps me narrow things down.”

“Well… a lot… but you’ve been around long enough, right?”

“True,” Prompto conceded. “All right, I’ll figure it out. But if anything stands out, lemme know, kay?

“Sure!”

“All right, we’ll go once we’re done eating, then.”

“Alright.”

Once they did finish their breakfasts, Prompto grabbed his wallet from his room, and then rejoined the siblings. “Ready to go? Maybe we’ll be able to get some dragonfruit,” he offered.

“Ooh! Cool! Lets go!” Noctis said with a small grin.

“Let’s,” the blonde chuckled, before heading out and leading the two dragons to the market. When they arrived, there were several stalls open, each with many different things to sell.

“Whoa… there’s so much stuff…” Noctis murmured softly as they walked.

“That’s the market for ya,” Prompto smiled.

“…” Regina, of course, was unimpressed (or seemed to be), as she just followed after Prompto, not even looking up as some of the shopkeepers called out to them.

“Oh, here we go,” Prompto said suddenly, tugging them over to a stall with dragon-themed wares and dragonfruit products.

Noctis’ eyes widened in awe, before an excited smile played over his face. And this time, even Regina seemed at least a little curious.

“These are all handmade and picked by my family and me, to pay tribute to the Holy Dragons and Bahamut,” the shopkeeper told them. “A lot of people like to collect and even offer them at their shrines.”

“Like my family did, and I still do,” Prompto added.

“They’re really nice,” Noctis said as he lifted up a figurine. “There’s so much detail…”

“We do try,” the shopkeeper smiled.

Regina, meanwhile, was toying with a pendant made of fancy gemstones to resemble dragon’s teeth. “…Hmm…”

“Anything catch your eye, guys?” Prompto asked.

“…” Regina merely shrugged as she set down the pendant again. Noctis noticed the look she was giving it though and frowned. And without giving her the chance to say no, he snagged up the pendant and held it and the figurine he’d picked up to Prompto.

“Can we get these?”

“Ah…! Noct!”

“Sure,” Prompto chuckled, having noticed the look, too. He pulled out his wallet and paid without hesitation, before handing the pair their respective items. Noctis smiled as he accepted the figurine, while Regina merely hummed as she quietly took the pendant.

“Enjoy the wares, my friends. They’ll last you a lifetime,” the shopkeeper told the siblings.

“Thank you,” Noctis said with a nod, while Regina merely hummed, as she tended to do.

“Oh, and can I get some dragonfruit, too, please?” Prompto asked, and the shopkeeper smiled with a laugh before handing the blonde a bag full of the fruit. “Thank you very much,” he told the man kindly as he paid. “Have a good day!”

“And you as well, my friends!” the shopkeeper smiled as they left.

As they began to walk off, Noctis frowned a little curiously. “Hey Prom?”

“Hm?”

“Do humans eat dragon fruit, too?”

“Not always. We usually grow it to offer it at shrines here,” Prompto replied.

“Oh… okay.”

“But I’ll save it for when we get back. You guys deserve some,” the blonde smiled.

Noctis smiled at those words, nodding briefly, as he easily kept up with Prompto. Regina, though, trailed behind a little bit, still.

Soon noticing this, Prompto asked, “You okay, Regina?”

“…yeah.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“…Nothing.”

“Regina…”

“…it’s nothing…” Regina repeated.

“…I highly doubt it’s nothing, but we’ll talk when we get back to my place,” Prompto replied.

“…”

Noctis watched his sister worriedly, but he said nothing else of it as they headed back to Prompto’s house.

When they got back, Prompto shut the door behind them, and then looked at Regina. “All right, we’re alone now. What’s on your mind?”

Regina sighed heavily as she moved over to the couch. “Nothing,” she said simply as she plopped down.

“It’s clearly something. I’m not stupid, Regina,” the blonde said as he sat down in the armchair.

The dragon, of course, refused to say a word, even as Noctis moved over to sit beside her.

“…Well, I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk. Remember, Regina, I’m here to help, not be your enemy,” Prompto murmured, before pulling out two of the dragonfruits from the bag. He then handed them to each of the siblings. “Here. Enjoy them, okay?” he said softly, before leaving to his own room, closing the door behind himself with a soft click.

Noctis watched Prompto’s door for a little bit after, before he sighed and looked at his sister. She was already munching on her dragon fruit, not seeming to care that Prompto had left them alone.

“…Regina?”

“Don’t even start.”

Noctis groaned in annoyance. “C’mon, Regi… please stop acting like everything’s out to kill us… you _know_ the people here are nice. You _know_ they never meant to cause us harm… it’s just…” Here he paused, briefly, before he continued. “It’s just the few people who’ve… lost their way… but we can make it right,” he promised, scooting closer and taking her hand quietly. “It’ll be okay… and we’ll get him for what he did… I promise…”

“…right… of course…” Regina murmured softly.

 

Meanwhile, Prompto sat on his bed in his room, his head in his hands. He didn’t understand why Regina seemed to be taking steps back from the progress they’d made. Maybe…maybe he just wasn’t suited to make Regina see that not all humans are evil. He sighed heavily, before lying down and curling up in his bed, hoping that Noctis might be able to talk to her.

 

“…Prom?” a familiar voice called, as someone shook him lightly.

“Huh…?” Prompto mumbled, blinking his eyes open tiredly.

“There’s someone here for you…

“Who…?” the blonde asked, frowning curiously.

“I dunno… he says Riku sent him.”

“Huh… Okay, I’ll be right there,” Prompto yawned, before sliding out of bed and following Noctis out to the living room. He then went to the front door and looked to see who it was.

And, surprisingly, it was Dino.

“Oh, hey Dino,” Prompto smiled. “What’s up?”

“I got something here in regards to Riku’s request. Here,” Dino said, handing him what looked to be a stack of reports. “Hopefully this won’t get too ugly, so be careful. I’d better head out. See ya later, kid.”

“Thanks, Dino. See you around,” Prompto nodded, before closing the door. When he returned to the living room, he looked at Noctis and Regina. “Dino came through. We got our proof, it looks like.”

This obviously caused them both to stare at him, before they both turned serious. “So… does that mean we can…?” Noctis started.

“Well, let’s read through some of these first,” the human pointed out. “Perhaps we should have Niche and Valanx join us…?”

“Might be smart…” Noctis agreed. “I’ll go get ‘m.”

With that, Noctis headed out to go get the two other dragons.

Once he was gone, Prompto sat in the armchair, before looking at Regina. “This is our chance, Regina,” he told her. “This should make things right.”

“…yeah… finally…” Regina murmured softly.

Prompto gave her a small, encouraging smile, before settling back in his chair as they waited.

“…” As they sat and waited, Regina was actually fingering the pendant Prompto had bought her earlier that day.

Prompto noticed, and he smiled slightly. “You like the pendant, huh?”

“…” Regina merely shrugged, but she didn’t try to deny it.

The lack of response made Prompto sigh quietly, but he knew he was right.

Suddenly…

“…thank you…”

“Hm?”

“…for… yanno… helping to… get the proof and all…”

Prompto blinked, before he smiled kindly. “Of course, Regina. We want to see Ardyn taken down almost as much as you do.”

Regina nodded her head quietly, still fingering the pendant.

The blonde settled back in the chair again, waiting for Noctis’s return with Niche and Valanx.

Thankfully, it didn’t take him much longer to come back with both dragons in tow.

“Hey guys,” Prompto greeted. “Ready to look at these?”

Niche merely hummed, while Valanx nodded firmly, even as Noctis moved over to take his seat next to Regina gain.

Prompto handed a small portion of the reports to Niche and Valanx to read over, before looking at Noctis. “You okay with reading some, Noct?” he asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Noctis said taking a few from Prompto.

Prompto nodded, before reading over his own stack that was left.

The reports didn’t seem that impressive at first, but the more they read, the more they realized just how twisted Ardyn really was. According to the letters, Ardyn had been personally responsible for convincing a good section of the council that the Holy Dragons were turning on them, seeking to crush mankind under their claws to take back control. He was also making the Empire seem better than the Holy Dragons, though a good number of council members didn’t trust his word, there were still plenty who took his word for it…

“Geez… Well, this is certainly proof enough…” Prompto muttered as he set aside his stack.

“Definitely…” Valanx agreed.

“So… How should we go about this?” the blonde asked.

“How ‘bout we just rip his throat out?” Niche growled.

“That won’t work…” Valanx said firmly. “We need to ensure that the council does not take his stance when we take his life. Otherwise, it will seem like he spoke truth.”

“Dammit…!”

“We have the reports. They’re proof enough to confront him on the subject,” Prompto pointed out.

“Indeed… but we need to do so _before_ we strike against him…”

“Definitely,” the blonde nodded.

“Question is… ‘how’?” Noctis said solemnly.

“True…” Prompto conceded, humming thoughtfully.

“…mmm… perhaps…” Valanx suddenly murmured.

“Hm?”

“…I will be back,” Valanx said simply, just before he turned and left the house.

Prompto quirked a brow curiously, before sighing.

“…what do you think he’s planning?” Noctis wondered aloud.

“Not a clue,” Prompto shrugged.

“…he clearly has _something_ in mind…” Niche murmured. “…but I wouldn’t be able to tell what…”

“…Hm… I might have an idea of what he intends to do…” Regina said simply.

“Huh? What?”

“What do you think he’s doing, Regina?” the blonde inquired curiously.

“…getting someone else to help us who might be more familiar with the dealings of this… ‘council’…”

As soon as she said that, Noct’s eyes go wide. “Wait… you mean he’s going to get…?”

“The elder?” Prompto guessed, unsure.

“…no…”

“Who, then?”

“…I can guess…” Niche grumbled.

But before Prompto could ask again, Valanx came into the house again, not saying a word upon entry… and neither did the person accompanying him as his heavy boots thunked against the floor as he walked.

“Cloud? Why’d you bring Cloud, Valanx?” Prompto asked, confused.

“…Several reasons, but that can wait…” Valanx pointed out, even as Cloud leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed solemnly (which wasn’t anything new). “More importantly… if we wish to see this through… we will need to finish quickly… the council intends to meet tonight regarding their stance with the Empire.”

“Damn…” Prompto hissed. “What do you recommend, then?”

“The first thing we need do is disrupt the meeting… and make people gather to hear the truth…”

“That shouldn’t be difficult,” Noct pointed out. “Everyone came over when I came to the village last time… after they were done hiding.”

“So, we could use that… but there is another way…”

“…What’s that?” Regina asked with a frown.

Rather than Valanx answering, the dragon turned toward Cloud. The blonde said nothing for several moments, before he snorted. “…wash out the trash hiding underground…”

“What trash…?” Noct wondered, before a realization hit him. “Wait…! They have MT’s here?!”

“Seriously?! How did--?! Never mind, that’s not important. Then let’s do that,” Prompto said firmly.

“There are trapdoors located just outside of town, and the main entrance can be found in the old mill,” Valanx said simply. “Myself, Niche and Cloud will go there to collect the ‘evidence’ found there. Milords… yourselves and Prompto should find a way to gather as many people as possible in one place… perchance the square…”

“Yeah… think Riku could help with that?” Noctis asked.

“Yeah, and Sora, too,” Prompto nodded.

“Good… let’s get this going before the sun sets, then…” Valanx said. “We do not want the darkness to hide him…”

“Right,” Prompto agreed.

After nodding briefly, Valanx then said simply: “Then let’s move… we’re wasting daylight…”

“Sounds like a plan. Let’s get moving, guys,” Prompto said firmly, getting to his feet.

“Right,” Regina said as she stood up with Noctis.

 

Once outside, Prompto looked at the siblings. “Let’s go find Riku and Sora, and then we’ll start getting people to gather at the square.”

“Alright. Let’s get to look for them.”

Prompto led the way to Riku’s house, and he waved to the pair as they lounged out on the grass outside the silverette’s house. “Hey guys!” he called.

“Prompto, hey,” Riku greeted. “What’s up?”

“Mind helping us? We need some help getting everyone in town to gather in the square soon,” the blonde asked.

“No trouble! We can do that!” Sora grinned. “What’s it for?”

“Just trust us, okay?” Prompto told him, and the brunette nodded.

“We’ll get going now!” he smiled, before getting up and dashing off.

“Be careful with whatever you guys have planned, Prompto,” Riku cautioned softly, before heading off as well.

“Will do.”

 

The group moved around the village, working their way around the village, managing to convince the vast majority of the villagers to meet in the square. Somehow, Regina even managed to do a good enough job, managing to talk some of the younger villagers into joining their parents. at the square. Noctis was doing good enough as well, which was surprising since he was less familiar with human interactions.

“All right, I think we got everyone,” Prompto murmured as he stood with Noctis and Regina near the back.

“Cool,” Noctis said with a nod.

“Now to just wait for the others…”

“…think they’ll be okay?” Noctis asked slowly.

“I’m sure they’ll be okay,” Prompto murmured. “We gotta keep positive.”

“Right…”

Regina didn’t seem worried. In fact, she seemed perfectly relaxed.

“So, are you related to Noctis? Cuz you guys look similar,” Sora asked Regina as they waited.

“…” Regina regarded Sora briefly, before she hummed and looked straight ahead again. “What of it?”

“Just curious, is all,” the brunette smiled.

Noctis chuckled softly. “Don’t mind her,” he said calmly. “She’s like that with everyone.”

“Shut it, Noct.”

“Case in point~”

“Riku used to be like that when we were kids. But I got him warmed up to me~!” Sora smiled.

Noctis laughed a bit, nodding his head, while Regina merely snorted.

“I think you’ve warmed up to me, all things considered, Regina,” Prompto chuckled.

“…whatever…”

The blonde merely smiled, before he returned his attention to the front of the square.

People were obviously confused about why they were there, talking to each other and wondering just what was going on.

As they waited, Prompto couldn’t help but think about his nightmare from the night prior, and he really hoped beyond hope that everything would go well…

Suddenly, Regina sniffed at the air briefly, and growled softly.

“Is it Ardyn?” Prompto asked quietly, looking around.

“…yes.”

“Don’t worry, Regina, we’ll show everyone how horrible he is,” Prompto murmured.

“…Right…” she murmured softly, clenching her fists tightly.

Noctis frowned as he reached over to take her hand quietly. And just then…

“Well… this is certainly interesting…” a familiar voice called out. “Am I missing something?”

‘Oh, shut up. You have NO idea what’s coming,’ Prompto thought irritably. “Not too much. Might as well stick around, though,” he said, noticing how Sora tucked himself against Riku.

“That so…?” Ardyn asked with a chuckle, adjusting his hat. “Though… perhaps it may be better to not waste too much daylight… there’s only so few hours in the day, after all.”

“What else is going on than this?” Riku shrugged. “It’s fine.”

Regina bit her lip, and Noctis winced as he felt her nails digging into his fingers, but he said nothing else.

“That so? Perhaps you may want to reconsider…” Ardyn pointed out, and Regina visibly tensed then, as if she already knew what he was going to say. “After all… who’s to say when our ‘protectors’ may decide we’re not worth the trouble…”

“I know the Holy Dragons will never abandon us,” Prompto said firmly. “They have no reason to abandon us. After all, I know I have no reason to lose faith.”

“And neither do we,” Riku nodded.

“Oh?” Ardyn said casually, a small smirk playing on his face. “Well… they certainly had us fooled then, didn’t they? What with attacking the village and our livestock, and all…”

“…!!” Regina tensed sharply, her free fist clenching to the point where she actually drew blood.

“It was misunderstanding, and it’s been resolved,” Sora piped up finally. His normally cheerful expression had become serious by this point. “If you remember, it had been resolved shortly after it began.”

Noctis glanced to Sora, grateful for the brunette’s interference, as he looked back and forth to the villagers. It was clear that there were a lot of people who shared the sentiment that the dragons wouldn’t harm them, but there were still plenty who seemed to believe the opposite. Which was worrisome… if they couldn’t convince everyone…!

“They won’t abandon us for anything unless anyone became foolish enough to join with the Empire, considering everything they’ve done,” Riku added.

“And for good reason,” said a cold voice suddenly before Ardyn could reply, making people look up and around in surprise.

Which was shortly before they yelped and/or screamed and ducked out of the way as a massive barrel came barreling through them only to smash into the signpost near where Prompto was standing.

Valanx snorted as he, Niche and Cloud walked over. “Apologies for the delay…” he said simply as they walked over. “There was something that… required confirmation…”

“Cloud?” Riku frowned curiously, but Prompto shook his head.

“Not now, Riku,” he murmured. “What would that be, Valanx?”

“…What did you find?” Regina asked, a dark frown on her face.

“…before that… Cloud?”

Cloud merely hummed as he stepped up to the barrel and hit it with his fist as he turned to the people there. “Tell me… who recognizes this design?”

“They’re the barrels meant for offerings to the Holy Dragons,” Sora said.

“…right…” Cloud said simply, reaching back for his sword.

“Hey whoa, wait! Cloud, what are you--!?” Zack shouted out, just before Cloud lashed out and reduced the barrel to tinder in a mere swing of his blade -- throwing the contents sideways to roll to a stop right against Prompto’s legs.

Prompto pulled away in disgust, glaring at the non-functioning MT on the ground.

Many others responded in much the same way as Prompto, but most people present screamed in horror, backing away, most of them children. Regina, meanwhile, was growling angrily, and Noctis was now squeezing back on her hand firmly. As the older dragon looked over to Niche, though, she realized that the other woman was glaring furiously. Which meant only one thing…

“…what else did you find?”

“…Prompto…” Valanx said suddenly.

“Hm?”

“…remove its helmet…”

“O-okay…?” Prompto stuttered, before doing as instructed.

It wasn’t an easy feat to accomplish, but, finally, he managed to get the helmet off entirely… and under it, he found a humanoid head with pale blonde hair… but the empty, white eyes had slitted pupils, the ears were shaped like fins and there were horns coming from its temples.

Immediately, Prompto dropped the helmet, horrified, as he staggered back, his eyes wide with horror. “Wh…what is this…?!”

Both Regina and Noctis were staring in a mixture of horror and shock, as they realized almost immediately what they were looking at.

“…don’t tell me…” Regina growled softly.

“…they were all like this…” Valanx responded firmly.

“What does this mean?!” someone demanded from the crowd.

“Why is it like that?” another villager asked fearfully.

“Mommy, why does it have horns like the dragons?” a little boy asked, clinging to his mother’s skirt.

“What is the meaning of this?!” was the most common phrase uttered by the villagers, but many seemed to have a rough idea of _why_ it was like that.

Of the group, Niche was the one to speak up on the matter. “So… _Mr. Izunia_ ,” she snarled furiously. “Would you care to explain… why the Empire’s made mindless soldiers from artificially made _white dragons_!?”

“…Considering how I had one not even three weeks old die in my arms while in Insomnia?!” Prompto snarled as well, enraged.

Ardyn, for once, did not reply, and his expression was hauntingly empty. However, that lasted for only a few moments before he chuckled. “Me? Why, I’ve no idea why you believe _me_ to have anything to this with this matter?”

“…Prompto, do you mind?” Valanx asked solemnly.

“Not at all,” the blonde nodded coolly, before pulling out one of the documents Dino had given him. and reading its contents aloud for everyone to hear. When he reached the end, he emphasized, “Signed, _Ardyn Izunia_.”

That obviously got everyone’s attention and, immediately, everyone’s attention went to the man in question and shock. And as expected, the horrified whispers began shortly after.

“Ardyn… wi-with the Empire?!”

“How is this…? How long has he been going through with this?!”

“For quite some time, it seems,” Prompto answered. A multitude of the villagers soon began to glare at Ardyn, furious at this new information.

Obviously, Ardyn was less than pleased, though it was barely visible on the man’s face. Finally, though, he snorted.

“That so? You _do_ realize it’s not that hard to simply write a name on a piece of parchment, correct?” he asked calmly. “If that is your only proof--”

“…careful what you wish for… _Chancellor_ …” Cloud said suddenly, startling the man into silence.

“…? Chancellor?” Noctis whispered, confused.

“Not sure…” Prompto murmured back. “Cloud? What do you mean…?”

Rather than say anything, Cloud produced what looked like a recorder. He gave everyone a moment to regard it, before he pressed “play”.

“--want to thank Imperial Chancellor Izunia for his contributions to my studies in making the MT.”

“Wha—?!” Prompto gasped.

“A-ah!?” Noctis choked out at the same time, while Regina’s expression darkened drastically.

And then, Cloud solemnly clicked off the recorder. “…care to explain that?” he asked simply, expression unchanging.

Prompto, Riku, and Sora were all three glaring at Ardyn, and almost all of the villagers were, too. Ardyn, unexpectedly, had no response, though he was glaring at Cloud, whose expression, as usual, didn’t change at all.

“…’Imperial Chancellor’?” someone hissed out among the crowd.

“He’s been with the Empire this whole time…?!”

“How long has he been doing this on our ground?!”

“Why would he do such a thing?” a woman’s voice asked fearfully as she held her child closer.

“Who knows? The Empire is full of twisted fiends,” a man nearby growled.

“He may have been doing this for as long as he’s been here…!” someone reasoned.

“How dare you?!” Zack suddenly snarled, furiously. “How _dare_ you do this to the Holy Dragons!? And you DARE say that they had no reason to hate humans!?”

“Zack’s right!” Sora yelled. “It’s no wonder they attacked, even if it WAS a misunderstanding! They had every right to do so!”

The other villagers gradually started demanding the same thing, as anger began to take hold of the populace. And even _Cindy_ joined in.

“Ya got some _nerve!_ ” the blonde said angrily, more angry than Prompto had _ever_ seen her. “D’ya honestly think the Holy Dragons will let this slide?! D’ya think _WE’LL_ let this slide!?”

“No, they definitely won’t!” Sora snapped, _very_ briefly glancing at Noctis and Regina while no one was looking. “They won’t be blamed for their anger this time!”

At that, Ardyn finally reacted, snorting softly. “Oh really? And what army will they bring to do so?”

“…we do not NEED an army for the likes of _you_ ,” Regina snarled suddenly, a furious snarl underlining her voice, as the pupils in her eyes slit down the center and the pupils expanded.

“What…?” someone from the crowd frowned slightly, confused.

“What does she mean?”

“Wait…! Does that mean…?!”

“…ch…” Suddenly, without warning, Ardyn threw something down at the ground and whatever it was exploded in a burst of smoke, causing everyone nearby to scream in alarm and back away quickly. Sadly, it also cleared the way for Ardyn to escape.

Not that he got a big head start.

“VALANX! NICHE!!” Regina fairly roared out, and as one, both of them snarled in fury, their eyes narrowing as their features shifted, before they shot forward, shifting halfway through their dash and rushing after Ardyn with powerful roars.

“You won’t get away with this, Ardyn!!” Prompto yelled after the maroon-haired bastard.

“…he shouldn’t get far…” Cloud said with a snort.

“With two _dragons_ on his ass?” Cindy quipped as she walked over with Zack. “I’ll be shocked if he does…”

Noctis, meanwhile, was snarling furiously, same as his sister. “Now I’m wishing I could chase after him myself…” he growled out, grinding his teeth together in obvious anger.

“It’s okay, Noct,” Prompto soothed. “Valanx and Niche will get ‘im.”

“Wait, you’re dragons, too?” Riku blinked, looking at the siblings in surprise. “Well, I guess that’s why Sora seemed to recognize you, Noctis. He mentioned your name the day Prompto was brought back before going back to Insomnia, but it never registered in my mind that you were the same.”

Regina didn’t say anything. Instead, she finally released her brother’s hand and moved over to the dead MT, crouching down by it and beginning to move its face, studying it from every angle.

“What are you doing, Regina?” Prompto inquired curiously, honestly still unnerved by the dead MT.

“…now I get it…” she mumbled softly, more to herself than anything.

As Noctis heard her say that, however, a frown came over him, before a look of surprise replaced it. “Ah…!”

Instead of saying anything, Regina stood up and solemnly turned to face Cloud.

“……”

Who, of course, didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

“Wait, what do you mean?” Prompto frowned, looking back and forth between Cloud and Regina, pretty confused.

“Um… are we missing something, here?” Zack asked, worried about how Regina was watching Cloud now.

“…Cloud…” Regina said slowly. “…from where did you get that recorder?” she asked finally. “How did you _know_ he was the Chancellor…?”

“Good point…” Prompto murmured. “How _do_ you have all of that information, Cloud?”

“……”

“…Cloud?” Cindy added. “Wha’s going on?”

“You know it’s okay to tell us, right?” Prompto said softly.

“……”

Once again, Cloud did not respond in the slightest.

“Dude… seriously, there’s no need for that, yanno?” Zack pointed out worriedly.

However, instead of responding, Cloud’s gaze shifted off to the side. “…company…” he mumbled.

“Wha—?!” Prompto gasped, before he glared with a growl as they all saw approaching MT’s. He whipped out his guns, prepared to mow them down.

“Dammit!!” Noctis hissed as he snapped out his hand and materialized his blade. Regina was only a step behind in doing so, snarling furiously.

“Figures he had one last ace up his sleeve…”

“Let’s tear them down,” the smaller of the two blondes growled.

Of course, Cloud snorted solemnly as he pulled his buster sword loose. “…fine,” he said simply, just before both Noctis and Regina threw their blades forward into the nearest MT, warp-striking to them and immediately beginning to tear through the opposition.

As Prompto shot through several of the MT’s, he couldn’t help but focus primarily on protecting Regina, his nightmare from before coming to the front of his mind. Yes, she was a capable fighter, but he didn’t want to see his nightmare come to life.

As Regina ducked and weaved in between the MT soldiers, she was snarling as she tore them to bits, knocking them aside as her horns began to emerge from her skull, hands and feet slowly shifting into more familiar claws. Noctis seemed to be holding off on shifting as he fought, but he was clearly close to doing so.

And as Cloud and even Zack joined the fray, the MT’s stood little chance against the combined force.

Prompto, however, kept his guard up, worried about Regina, as this was almost eerily similar. Granted, in his nightmare, she was fighting alone, but still. But as he watched her, she looked off to the side, seeming to see something. Just as Prompto was about to call out, though, an MT bumbled into the way, blocking his view for only a moment. But that one moment was enough for Prompto to lose sight of her.

‘No!!’ Prompto thought in frustration. “Regina!” he yelled, shooting the one blocking him as he hurried after her.

Noctis caught the yell, and panic filled his own heart, as he whirled around, slicing off the head of the nearest MT, before he took off after Prompto. “What happened?!” he demanded.

“I lost sight of Regina!” he told Noctis in a panic.

“…!! Wha…!?”

“I can’t explain right now, but I don’t wanna lose sight of her!” the blonde said hurriedly.

Though he clearly wanted to ask, Noctis nodded and hurried after Prompto as they ran through the mass of MT’s.

Prompto rushed along, seeking out Regina as quickly as he could, desperation urging him along.

As they went, the MT’s fell like flies as Zack and Cloud continued mowing through them. But when Noctis looked over and noticed that Valanx and Niche had joined in on the fight, his panic grew even further. Why were they here if they’d been sent after Ardyn?

…unless…

“…oh no!!”

“What?!” Prompto demanded, before paling when he saw Niche and Valanx as well.

“If they’re here… where’s--”

But before Noctis could finish the question, a familiar (furious) roar echoed through the air from up ahead.

“Regina!” Prompto gasped, before dashing ahead in a panic.

“Damn damn _damn_!” Noctis snarled as he hurried toward the roar. It took them only a few moments to find Regina, already half-way through her shift into dragon form, facing off with Ardyn. “Regina!!” the other dragon shouted, trying to get over to his sibling.

Sadly, they weren’t given the opportunity to get close, as a bunch of MT’s blocked their path.

“Get out of our WAY!!” Prompto snarled furiously, shooting as many as he could.

Noctis didn’t even bother with words; instead, he roared and lashed out with one arm, already shifted into a claw, and slammed one of the MT’s to the ground, before snapping out his tail and taking out several more.

‘ _Please let us be in time…!_ ’

The blonde nearby him was along the same thought process, still mowing the MT’s down with shot after shot.

 

Regina wasn’t sure when she’d spotted the human wandering onto the battlefield, but the moment she did, her rage peaked once more, her vision going red. Unable to think straight, she rushed toward him after decapitating the MT she’d been fighting.

She bounded off of the nearest MT, and then she was right in front of Ardyn, blocking off his escape. The sudden appearance clearly startled him, but Regina didn’t care; she roared in fury and lunged for the human, lashing out with her claws and the sword that had reattached to her tail. She didn’t even realize that her fury was completely blinding her to what she was doing, as the bastard barely dodged the first swipe but wasn’t able to dodge the second, which tore through his cloak. The third swipe with her sword bit into his arm and he yowled in pain, and this was music to Regina’s ears.

It was at around this time that he managed to pull out his own blade and blocked the next hit, and Regina snarled angrily. Somehow, she managed to knock the blade away with her claw, but the moment she tried to lunge forward to rip his face off, pain exploded from her stomach and she choked in agony. She could barely speak and move, could barely _hear_ anything… but she could definitely hear her brother and Prompto screaming her name…


	16. Dulled Scales

“ _REGINA!!!_ ” Prompto screamed at the same time as Noctis did, his nightmare coming to life before his eyes, and he continued to scream her name as he struggled to get to her.

Noctis, meanwhile, couldn’t even utter words anymore as he knocked every single MT away, even as Ardyn laughed solemnly, stepping back as Regina staggered back, clawing at her stomach even as the man disappeared amidst the MT’s. The moment the road was clear, Noctis practically flew the last distance toward his sibling when his wings had formed, as she fell backward, barely catching her before she hit the ground.

“Regina, NO!!” Prompto shouted as he joined them, tears forming in his eyes as he stood with Noctis. ‘ _WHY?!?!_ ’ he thought in horror and desperation. ‘ _This **can’t** be happening!!_ ’

Noctis was well beyond any human words; he could only growl and snarl, even though it sounded absolutely terrified as his sister crumpled down to the ground, her hands still going for the stab wound in her stomach, as blood poured out from both the front and back. Regina was gasping and wheezing trying to speak but unable to as she choked on the blood and bile rising to her throat.

“Regina…!” Prompto whimpered, the tears flowing freely by now.

She didn’t seem to have heard him, nor did she seem capable of seeing him, with her eyes gradually starting to turn white along the edges. Noctis whimpered as he held his sister close… right as his ear twitched and his gaze snapped up to an MT that lumbered toward them. Immediately, the dragon roared at it furiously, arching his tail to strike it down.

But before it could get close, Cloud’s massive buster sword cleaved the MT in half, throwing it to the side. Once he had, he snorted briefly, before he seemed to notice Regina’s injuries and his eyes (fractionally) widened and he ran over.

“Regina, you can’t…” Prompto pleaded, trailing off, as he didn’t want to say the word.

Cloud frowned darkly, before he dropped down, putting down his sword and reaching for Regina. However, Noctis, being the worried/terrified sibling he was, caught this as aggression toward his injured sister and pulled her closer and away, snarling furiously at Cloud as if he was expecting him to understand that. Though Cloud didn’t show much on his face with that, it was clear he didn’t enjoy being snarled at -- and so he suddenly began to snarl back at Noct.

“…!!”

“Cloud?!” Prompto yelped, before he seemed to realize what might be going on. “Noct, let him help, please…!”

“…” Noctis looked over to Prompto briefly, before he turned back to Cloud, who was watching him solemnly. Then, slowly, he relinquished the grip he had on Regina, finally letting Cloud get closer.

And the blonde wasted no time in placing one hand on her stomach, and the other along her back, both hands on the entry and exit wounds. Of course, Regina tried to howl in pain and attempted to remove his hands, but Cloud ignored that and kept his hands firmly where they were. And then, as they watched, pale green energy emanated from his hands, pressing into the wounds consistently.

“…!” the smaller blonde gasped at the sight, and as he watched, he realized Cloud had more hidden to him than what any of them had ever known. Not that that mattered now. All that matter was saving Regina.

The energy coming from the blonde’s hands was consistent, but it was also putting obvious strain on the blonde, as, for once, his face showed _actual_ exertion from trying to keep the flow of green energy regulated. But since both Prompto and Noctis were more focused on Regina as the wounds beneath his hands slowly closed, neither noticed how his eyes had begun glowing similarly to the energy at his fingertips… with an added slitted pupil.

Prompto watched Regina closely, hoping this would save her, while Noctis rubbed his cheek against his sister’s, growling out what had to be soft words of assurance that she would be fine. It really didn’t matter what it was though; as long as it kept Regina calm and stable.

It felt like it took forever, but, finally, the glow faded from Cloud’s hands and he slowly removed them, the limbs shaking minutely. The wounds had closed and they seemed to be okay, but there was no denying that she needed professional medical aid.

“…We need to get her back to Insomnia…” Prompto whispered, still scared for her.

“But…!” Noctis started, glaring in the direction that Ardyn had disappeared off to.

“Regina’s health is more important right now, Noct…” the blonde pointed out.

“…right…” Noctis mumbled, though he didn’t seem pleased about letting Ardyn run free as he slowly stood up.

“I can go after Ardyn,” Prompto offered.

At that Noctis looked at him in shock, but only for a few moments as Cloud stood up and picked up his sword again. When the taller blonde regarded Noctis in silence, the black dragon finally nodded. “…okay…” he said. “But go with Cloud… please…”

“Will do,” the smaller blonde nodded, before looking at Cloud. “You okay?”

“…fine…” Cloud said simply, but his voice sounded a lot raspier than Prompto was used to.

“Be careful,” Noct said, either not noticing or not caring.

“We will,” Prompto assured him, before leaving with Cloud after Ardyn.

As the pair hurried off, Noct curled his arms around his sister protectively, before he spread out his wings, taking off for Insomnia.

‘ _Please… don’t die…!_ ’

 

“…here,” Cloud said as they reached what appeared to be an empty field.

“Huh?” Prompto uttered, looking at the taller blonde curiously.

Rather than respond, Cloud stuck his blade in the ground. And then, with a powerful swing of his sword, he tore open a hatch that had been hidden under the grass.

“…” Prompto was quiet for a minute, before he sighed. “I’m not even going to ask how you knew that was there.”

And of course, Clouds didn’t offer it either. He just stepped up, placed his sword across his back and hoped down into the depths without a word said. And the smaller blonde was quick to follow.

Once they were down there, the stench of chemicals immediately assaulted Prompto’s nose, nearly making him gag. Cloud showed no effect from the stench, but given how he was breathing through his mouth, he definitely smelled it.

Prompto stuck close behind Cloud, but still gave him enough room to whip out his buster sword if needed.

Suddenly, the taller man stopped.

Curious, the smaller blonde gave a quiet, inquisitive noise.

“…don’t make eye contact.”

“O…okay?” Prompto stammered, before looking away.

Cloud offered nothing else as he continued on, walking into the next room. And as Prompto followed after, he realized what the older blonde had meant; the left side of the room was lined with rows upon rows of tanks filed with a deep blue liquid… and each one held a blonde person in them. To make it worse, all of them had horns and fin-like ears, as well as a tail that arched out from the base of their spine.

Prompto swallowed thickly, feeling almost sick from the sights.

“…don’t make eye contact,” Cloud repeated.

“Right…” the smaller male mumbled, heeding Cloud’s advice.

Like that, they walked silently through the room, with Cloud clearly ignoring the tanks to the side, and Prompto doing his best to do the same. However, when one of them suddenly slammed into the glass casing as Prompto passed it, the blonde jolted harshly, barely managing to keep himself from yelping as he looked at it.

The blonde in the tank looked horrible; he was emaciated to the point where he was all skin and bones, claws torn at the tips and the eyes sunken in. However, despite all that, something tugged at Prompto’s mind that he’d… seen that face before. But it wasn’t until it seemed to cry out in the tank (inaudibly because of the liquid) and scrabbling at the glass that it hit him; the figure’s face was almost the same as his own.

Prompto’s gaze became horrified at the realization; how was that even _possible_?!

Suddenly, someone grabbed his arm and turned him around. And as he looked up, Cloud hissed: “Don’t. Make. Eye contact.”

“S-sorry…” the smaller male whispered apologetically.

Cloud merely snorted as he let him go, before turning around and beginning to walk again.

“Cloud… What is this place…?” Prompto asked quietly as he resumed following.

“…just one of the many storage areas…”

“Storage areas…? But…that one looked almost like me…” the smaller male murmured.

“…look left… don’t turn your head.”

Silently, Prompto complied.

And when he did, there was another heavily emaciated person in the tank… but this one had a face that was completely emotionless, as he looked out as though he were already dead. And it was with a face almost identical to Cloud’s.

“Wha--?!” Prompto nearly gasped. “How is that even possible, Cloud?”

“…guess.”

The smaller blonde frowned in thought, before everything started to hit as far as Cloud went. The fact that he’d been able to heal Regina the way he had, his knowledge of everything… plus the fact that Noctis and Regina had even told him white dragons were capable of healing magic.

“You… you’re a white dragon, aren’t you?” he said.

“…” For a long time, Cloud said nothing in response, as he kept walking on. But after a while, he paused and looked back solemnly over his shoulder. “…so are you.”

“Wait what?! How?!” Prompto gasped as he caught up.

“…same as all of these…” Cloud said simply. “…artificially engineered…”

“But…I don’t understand… How could I have gone this whole time without ever noticing anything?” the smaller male asked quietly, sounding thoroughly confused.

“…that’s all in your head…” Cloud said. “…because you were raised among humans…” At this point, he snorted. “…you don’t even remember running around as a dragonling around your ‘parents’…”

“…I’m so lost, though…” Prompto mumbled. “How could I forget that?”

“…you were barely a week old… so no wonder…”

The smaller male lowered his gaze, before he looked up sharply. “You knew how old I was? Then… you saved me? Why?”

“…do I need a reason?” the older male mumbled.

“Fair enough…” Prompto conceded. “Then… how… how do I become a dragon, then, I guess?”

“…” Cloud didn’t respond, before he shrugged simply.

“…” Prompto sighed softly at the lack of an answer, figuring Cloud probably wouldn’t know, either. “Should… should I tell the others…?”

“…do what you want…”

“What about you, though? I’m surprised you never returned to Insomnia…”

“…I don’t belong there…”

“Why not?”

“…I just don’t…”

“Come on, there has to be a reason…” Prompto insisted.

“…”

“Cloud…?”

Suddenly, Cloud stopped dead in his tracks.

Prompto did the same, nearly smacking into the other blonde in the process.

“…” Cloud didn’t say anything. Instead, he brought up his weapon and held it in both hands.

In response, the smaller male peeked over Cloud’s shoulder, worried.

“…get ready…”

“…There’s more, aren’t there?” Prompto guessed, pulling out one of his guns.

“…hm…”

Prompto mentally braced himself for another fight. Once he had, Cloud solemnly began to walk again, though slower than before, as a sound of metal clanking against the ground up ahead. The smaller male swallowed nervously, remaining quiet.

It took only a few moments for the source to come stumbling into view. It looked like an MT, but there was something… off about it, as it staggered around, a red glow emanating from its frame.

“What’s with that one…?” Prompto whispered.

“…corrupted…” Cloud murmured. “…it happens…”

Just then, the MT’s face twisted their way, red eyes locking onto them. And then, with a roaring-screech, it lunged for them, its axe raised to strike them.

However, Cloud was faster as he swung his weapon out, cutting the MT in half with the single swing and making it screech as its lower half went over the railing and the upper half slamming on the walkway with a screech.

“I just… I don’t understand…” Prompto muttered as things settled down again. “Why would the Empire do something so horrible…?”

“…fight fire with fire…” Cloud said without a flinch as he slammed down his blade into the MT’s throat, cutting off its almost endless screeching.

“Still…” the smaller male sighed, before he thought of something else. “…Hey Cloud?”

“…hm?”

“How come you didn’t raise me yourself, all things considered?”

“……”

Prompto waited patiently, but his expression showed he was hurt.

“…not interested,” was Cloud’s eventual response, as he started walking again.

The smaller blonde’s eyes widened, before he grumbled bitterly as he followed after.

As they walked, though, there was a sound from behind Prompto. Immediately, Prompto whipped around and shot at the source, which was an MT.

The MT staggered from the shot, its helmet clattering to the floor. This revealed that dragonic features, horribly emaciated with its eyes burning red as stripes of red energy streaked across its face like veins. Then it screeched in something akin to agony as it lunged for Prompto.

Horrified, the smaller male gasped, but he was quick to shoot it again, this time blasting it in the face and killing it instantly. As it fell to the ground, there was another screech/scream, as Cloud ripped through another MT that had rushed him. The taller blonde snorted solemnly as he pressed on.

As they continued, Prompto soon asked: “Where do you think Ardyn is?”

Before Cloud could say anything, there was a crackle from above them, over the speakers.

The smaller male looked up at the speakers in alarm, wondering what was about to happen now.

“ _Welcome back, boys,_ ” Ardyn’s voice called out once the static had gone. “ _How’s it feel… to be back home, hm?_ ”

Prompto scowled at the taunting words. “This was never home for anyone, and you damn well know that!” he snapped.

“ _My my… That’s not very nice to say,_ ” Ardyn said, but there was a cold chuckle underlining his words.

And, of course, Cloud didn’t even look up at the words.

“Like I care,” the smaller blonde snorted. “You’re a sick fuck to even be a part of this!”

“ _Language, my boy… after all… there’s **children** in the area…_ ”

“They’re not even _children_ ,” Prompto scoffed. “They’re your experiments to be used as tools of war.”

Ardyn merely chuckled over the speaker. “ _My… such cruelty toward your siblings, my boy… perhaps you boys need some time to… talk things out._ ”

Suddenly, an alarm started blaring, which made Cloud sigh in annoyance.

“They’re about to attack, aren’t they?” Prompto grumbled.

“…yeah…”

“Dammit…” the smaller male muttered, pulling out his other gun in preparation.

“…hey…”

“Hm?”

“…run…” Cloud said simply, just as a series on containers that Prompto hadn’t even seen snapped open and the MT’s inside leaped out. Prompto nodded, and rushed after Cloud as he ran off.

The taller man seemed to know (somehow) where to go as they ran, whilst taking out any MT getting in their way. While there were moments where the man paused to look down the different paths available, he wasted little time in moving on again. The smaller blonde kept close, shooting at some of the MT’s on occasion.

Finally, they seemed to reach their destination as Cloud stopped outside of a heavy door. “…”

“What is it?” Prompto inquired softly.

Rather than say anything, Cloud gripped his sword, and then lashed out in a specific pattern; down, right, up, and then two diagonal slashes in a cross, before he (easily) kicked the door in.

The smaller blonde’s jaw slackened slightly, before he followed after.

Inside, was a massive computer, obviously meant to regulate the entire underground storage area. And, not that surprising, it was empty when they came in. “…ch… he’s already left…”

“Dammit…” Prompto muttered, before he sighed. “So…now what?”

Cloud doesn’t even bother to reply as he stepped up to the console… and then he raised his blade and slammed it into the panel, twisting his weapon as the contraption sparked dangerously.

“I take it that’ll ruin this place?” Prompto guessed.

“…hm…” was Cloud’s only response as he ripped the weapon out again. “…one more stop… let’s go…”

“Kay.” Prompto followed along quietly.

There were still some MT’s coming for them as they left, but the number was not being continuously restocked, which was good. Cloud continued moving along ahead of Prompto, seemingly with one goal in mind. And then, finally, he seemed to have found it and pushed open another door, walking aside after putting his sword away.

“What is this?” Prompto inquired softly.

However, as he looked around, Prompto nearly choked as realization hit him; there were small glass cases scattered around the room, with large lamps hanging over them, even though they were no longer on (probably because Cloud killed the main console). And in every glass case… was a dragonling. Some were bigger than others, probably older, but they were all at the very least the size of the one Nowe had brought to Insomnia before. And like the brunette had already said; there were very few of them that looked… healthy.

“Cloud… we need to help them…” the smaller blonde murmured.

However, when he looked over, he realized that Cloud was already in the process of doing so, trying to get a dragonling to respond to him before lifting the small creature out of the glass case. Realizing this, Prompto soon began to do the same, making sure that each dragonling he went to was responsive before gently picking it out of the case holding it.

Sadly, of the 20-something dragonlings, only a small handful of them were well enough to respond to the two blondes. By the time they were done, they had managed to get only 7 of them out of the glass cases, and the small dragons were huddling together, purring and growling as they tried to get as comfortable as they could on the ground.

“How do we get them all out of here?” Prompto asked Cloud with a small frown.

“…” Cloud hummed a bit, thinking, before he stood up. “…stay here,” he said, before he headed out.

The smaller male sighed as Cloud left, before he went to the seven dragonlings and spoke to them. “We’ll get you guys out of here, I promise.”

One of the dragonlings looked up slowly, and it blinked its blue eyes slowly, before it gave a small “squeak” like sound.

“It’ll be okay,” Prompto soothed, gently rubbing its head.

“…mmraaaah…” it chirped, its tail flicking a bit with its red-tipped end bumping into Prompto’s leg.

“What is it?” the blonde asked, not really expecting an answer.

Surprisingly, the little dragonling turned away from him and then began to scamper over the others… scampering toward the glass cases.

“What’s wrong?” Prompto frowned, following it.

The dragonling moved to one of the glass cases, which held one of the weaker dragonlings, with the scales having lost the luster that the healthier ones still had. Once it was there, the small dragonling made a clicking/whistling sound as it tried to reach its small claws for the other dragonling.

“You’re actual siblings, aren’t you?” Prompto guessed as he carefully picked up the weaker one.

The dragonling squealed a little, even as the dragonling in Prompto’s arms didn’t move or even seem aware of anything, even though it was still breathing (barely).

“Shh…” Prompto soothed, gently petting the one in his arms. He wished he knew how to heal like Cloud did, even if it took a lot of energy. It was horrible, to have another dragonling actively die in his arms like this…

“…what are you doing?” Cloud’s voice called out from behind, making Prompto turn around. The taller blonde was standing in the doorway, leaning on the same type of barrel that the MT from earlier had come from. This one, though, looked empty.

“They were trying to get to each other,” Prompto murmured sadly, looking at the one in his arms.

“…” Cloud was silent for a long time, before he sighed and dragged the barrel further in the room. “…that one isn’t going to last long…”

“I know…” the smaller blonde sighed as well. “It’s just so sad…”

“…” Cloud didn’t bother saying anything else as he moved the barrel onto its side. And once he had, he began to carefully move the dragonlings into the barrel.

Looking down at the one at his feet, Prompto felt tears form in his eyes again. He didn’t want to split them apart, but the one he held wasn’t going to make it.

“…mraah?” the dragonling by his feet called, before it yipped as Cloud came over and picked it up.

“Everything’ll be fine,” the smaller male assured it, before sighing heavily.

The dragonling didn’t seem to understand, wriggling in Cloud’s arms before it was placed with the others in the barrel.

“I’m sorry…” Prompto whispered. He couldn’t even bear to set the one he held down, though. He found it too difficult…

Cloud didn’t say anything else as he then lifted the barrel, almost easily, holding it slightly tilted so that the dragonlings wouldn’t fall out from inside, before he began to head out quietly. However, before he had left the room entirely…

“…we’ll come back for the others later…”

“…right…” Prompto mumbled, before somehow managing to set down the one he held back into its case. However, as he tried to move away, he suddenly realized that its tail had curled around his arm… and it wasn’t letting go. “Huh?” Prompto uttered, looking at it in concern. “What’s wrong?”

The small dragonling, naturally, didn’t say anything, but it refused to let go of Prompto’s arm.

“Cloud? C…can we please take this one, too? I’ll carry it,” the smaller male asked softly, realizing it didn’t want to be left behind.

“…” Cloud regarded him for a moment, before he snorted and turned away. “…do what you want…”

Prompto then straightened up again, holding the dragonling close to his heart as he went after Cloud. That seemed to help, as the grip of the dragonling’s tail eased off a bit, but only slightly.

 

Somehow, they managed to get out from the storage area, and when they did, they saw that the MT’s had been taken care of already. And then, Riku and Sora came running over.

“Are you guys okay?” Riku asked urgently, but Sora’s eyes were wide at the sight of the barrel’s contents.

“What happened?” he asked.

“…” Cloud, naturally, didn’t respond as he placed the barrel down on the ground. The dragonlings inside didn’t appear to notice this; they’d all apparently tumbled asleep at one point.

“We’ll explain later, guys, sorry,” Prompto sighed. “Are Niche or Valanx still here?”

No sooner had he said that, or a shadow fell over them, just before Valanx came down, shifting into human form mid-drop. As soon as he saw the dragonlings, a dark frown came over him as he stepped up. “…these are the only ones?” he asked solemnly.

“…the only ones responding…” Cloud confirmed, before glancing to Prompto. “…besides that one…”

“Can we take them to Insomnia, Valanx?” Prompto asked.

“…of course,” Valanx said with a small nod, as he moved over and gently took the barrel over from Cloud.

Meanwhile, Niche dropped down, though she didn’t shift back.

Instead, she remained there, and growled softly, before she dropped lower, clearly to let Prompto on.

“Thank you, both of you,” Prompto murmured as he carefully climbed onto Niche’s back. “And Cloud?”

“…hm?”

“Thank you…for telling me.”

“…” Cloud regarded him for a moment more, before he snorted. “…whatever.”

Prompto sighed heavily, before looking at Valanx. “Let’s go whenever you’re ready.”

Valanx nodded as he shifted halfway, with his claws holding the barrel tightly, and his wings slipping from his shoulder blades. Once he was absolutely sure the dragonlings wouldn’t fall out, he took to the air again. And then, as Niche took to the air as well, the pair rushed for Insomnia once again.

Prompto remained quiet as they headed back, wondering to himself if he should tell the others about the information he’d discovered from Cloud while down in the ‘storage unit’.

If Niche was aware of Prompto being caught up in his thoughts, then she didn’t say anything of it, as she focused on following after Valanx as he flew ahead. Thankfully, it barely took them any time to return to Insomnia, and even less to get to the Citadel. Unlike Noctis, though, the pair of dragons flew in through one of the windows, one floor before the Alpha’s.

Once Prompto dismounted, he looked down at the dragonling in his arms, making sure it was still alive. Thankfully, it was still breathing, even if it didn’t move.

Niche looked over to Valanx as the other dragon adjusted his hold on the barrel. “Valanx, I will go back for the others.”

“Alright… be careful…” Valanx said solemnly.

Niche nodded her head, before she turned and leaped out from the window again. And Valanx merely watched her go, before he began to head for the Alpha’s cavern.

Prompto was quick to follow, holding the dragonling in his arms close. “What’s going to happen to them…?” he asked Valanx quietly, looking at the ones in the barrel.

“…that is up to the Alpha to decide…”

“Fair enough…” the blonde murmured.

As they arrived at the Alpha’s cavern, Regis was already waiting, but he was clearly worried about his own kin, which really wasn’t so strange. Still, when they entered, he turned to them from where he was curled on his “throne”.

“How’s Regina?” Prompto asked when they got close.

“…She is stable…” Regis said solemnly. “She should be fine with rest. Noctis is with her, to ensure she will rest properly.”

“That’s a relief…” the blonde sighed, lightly adjusting his grip on the dragonling.

“…I see you have your own report to make,” Regis said solemnly. “What did you bring?” Even though he asked that, it was clear he had a good idea of what was going on.

“…We confirmed Ardyn was definitely involved,” Prompto told him. “In fact, he sent MT’s after us. When Cloud and I went after him, we found these ones still inside…”

“…I see… but for what did they need dragonlings?”

“The Empire was using them…to make MT’s out of…”

That news, clearly, infuriated the Alpha, as his claws curled tightly along the ground, a deadly growl escaping his throat. He seemed like he wanted to say something about the matter, but he clearly thought better of it. Instead, he took a deep breath, and finally asked: “These young ones… they were not the only ones, were they?”

“No, Milord,” Valanx said solemnly as he set the barrel down so that Regis could see the seven dragonlings inside. “But these were the healthiest… we believe these to have the best chances for survival.”

“What’s going to happen to them, Regis?” Prompto asked quietly.

“…” Regis thought on this long and hard on the matter, before he sighed softly. “In normal conditions, the young would be given to their clan… but there are no white dragons left within Insomnia’s walls…”

“…Now there is, though…” Prompto said, casting his gaze off to the side. “Cloud told me, while we were hunting down Ardyn, that… I’m a white dragon… made to be an MT like these ones were, except he got me out before it was too late.”

This news, obviously, came as a shock to both Regis as Valanx, the latter of which was now openly staring at Prompto in shock. Finally, though, Regis hummed as he flicked his tail briefly. “…Valanx.”

“…Sir?”

“What do you make of this?”

“…it is certainly possible…” the dragon admitted, though he was clearly still a bit shaken from the revelation. “There were… more adult dragons there… shifted to human form. And there were some that… bore a certain resemblance to Prompto. I did not think anything of it at the time, but… it makes sense, now.”

“…I see.”

“I don’t remember anything about being a dragon, though,” the blonde admitted. “I was only a week old when I was given to my parents by Cloud to be raised as human…”

Regis hummed softly, thoughtfully, as his tail flicked at the air again. “…Very well. Prompto?”

“Yes, sir?” Prompto replied, looking up at the Alpha.

“Normally I would not request of a guest to take on such a heavy task on their own, but I fear we do not have much choice. Would you take care of these young ones until they are well enough to live for themselves?”

“I can, I just can’t guarantee that I’m the best candidate…all things considered,” Prompto sighed. “Would it be wrong of me to ask Regina and Noctis for help, maybe?”

Regis chuckled softly as he nodded his head. “You may, though Regina may be less than helpful in her current state… I’m sure she will be pleased to assist in any way she can.”

“I know, but it’s worth a shot,” Prompto smiled slightly, even as he looked down at the one he held. “…I just feel helpless about this one, though… It wouldn’t let me go when I tried to leave earlier…”

Regis frowned a little as he regarded the eighth dragonling. “I assume this one was… less than healthy, then?”

“That’s right… I only noticed it when one of the others tried to get to it…”

“Hm… curious…” the Alpha murmured thoughtfully.

“I don’t blame it for not wanting to be left there, though…” the blonde murmured. “The place was horrible… I nearly got sick from the smell alone, not to mention the sights…”

“Understandable…” Regis murmured, before his gaze shifted lower.

Before Prompto could ask, there was a bump against his leg. “Mraaahhh…!”

“Well now, how’d you get out?” Prompto asked in surprise as he looked down at the same dragonling that had gotten his attention before, who was now at his feet again.

“Mrah!”

Regis chuckled. “You may wish to get used to that… young ones can be quite resourceful.”

“Fair enough,” Prompto chuckled as well, before reaching down and rubbing the dragonling’s head. “You wanna be with this one, huh?” he guessed softly.

“Mrrraaaah!!” the dragonling whined/cried, trying to climb up against Prompto’s leg.

“Okay, okay,” the blonde smiled, adjusting his grip on the weaker one before carefully scooping up the one trying to climb him like a tree.

The dragonling mewled as it nudged its snout against the other, weaker young, a soft whine escaping it.

“…I feel like an idiot, because I don’t understand everything they want or are saying…” Prompto mumbled, holding the pair close.

“Do not worry; Noctis and Regina can assist in that,” Regis said. Turning to Valanx, the Alpha said: “Valanx, please help Prompto in getting the young to Noctis’ cavern.”

“As you wish, Sir,” the dragon said with a nod, standing up and lifting up the barrel again.

“Thank you, Regis,” Prompto told the Alpha gratefully, before following after Valanx, still carrying the pair in his arms.


	17. Tranquility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a rush of panic and adrenaline, it's good to take a moment to calm down.

Thankfully, it took them only a few moments to reach Noct’s cavern. Once there, Valanx silently began to take the remaining dragonlings from the barrel, placing them in the nest.

‘ _Hopefully Noct won’t be too upset with the new additions to his nest…_ ’ Prompto thought nervously as he sat in the nest with them once they were all out. “Thanks, Valanx.”

Valanx merely nodded his head, setting the barrel off to the side. “…I’m returning to the village…” he said. “…take care…”

“I will. You, too,” Prompto nodded.

Valanx nodded, before he turned and headed away once again.

As Prompto was left alone again, the blonde began to hope that Noctis would come back soon. He wanted to see the other dragon, but he couldn’t leave the dragonlings by themselves. Instead of focusing on that, however, he started to reflect on why his parents never told him the truth. Why wouldn’t they have wanted to tell him? Probably for his own protection, but still.

While Prompto sat there worrying, the healthier dragonling in his arms tried to move closer to the other dragonling, mewling unhappily as the other refused to move.

The action made tears form in Prompto’s eyes once again, and he held them close, whispering: “I’m sorry…”

Which was exactly when the weaker of the two snapped its tail sideways and hit the other dragonling, making it yip. The other dragonling blinked a bit, before it yipped excitedly and nuzzled its snout against the other.

The blonde blinked, startled, before hugging the weaker one even closer. “I really hope you were just scaring me for nothing…” he mumbled.

“…mrr…” the dragonling murmured just then, while the other dragonling scrambled over Prompto to get to its “sibling”.

“Thank Bahamut…” Prompto breathed, smiling softly, letting the other join it.

Just as Prompto murmured that, there was a small knock on the door, making him look up.

“Come in,” Prompto called.

As the door opened, Ignis walked in. “Hey,” the sandy blonde said with a small nod.

“Hey,” the smaller male greeted. “How’re Regina and Noct doing?”

Ignis sighed softly as he adjusted his glasses. “Regina’s certainly been better, but she’s alive, at least… Noctis has been with her the whole time. He refuses to leave her.”

“I don’t blame him…” Prompto mumbled. ‘ _So much for him coming back anytime soon…_ ’ he thought, feeling almost dejected for some reason.

“…Do you want to see him?”

“Yeah, but…I don’t wanna leave these ones alone…” Prompto admitted with a sigh.

“I understand, but they will be fine. At least for a while,” Ignis assured. “They seem mostly content to sleep for the moment.

“A…all right…” the blonde murmured, carefully setting the two sibling dragonlings down together with the others before quietly getting to his feet.

Ignis smiled softly as the dragonling healthier of the two dragonlings huddled against the weaker one, yawning and resting along its back. As Prompto came over, the other human placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “They’ll be fine… don’t worry.”

“Thank you, Ignis… I just can’t help but worry because that one was on the brink of death…” Prompto explained softly, looking at the weaker one.

“I understand,” Ignis assured. “But for now, it’ll be okay… It’s lasted this long, right?”

“True,” the blonde nodded, before looking at Ignis. “I’d better go see Noct and Regina…” And with that said, he headed out to Regina’s cavern, where he lightly knocked on the door before waiting for a call to let him in.

“…’s open…”

Prompto then opened the door, calling out softly: “Noct…?”

As he looked around, he noticed that Regina was in her nest, on her back, seemingly fast asleep. Noctis, on the other hand, was laying by her side, his head on her shoulder and his tail curled around her legs protectively. The dragon looked up lazily from his spot, before he hummed softly.

“How is she…?” the smaller male asked as he approached.

“…she’s… alive…” Noctis murmured softly, snuggling closer. “…she hasn’t woken up, yet…”

“I’m sorry…” Prompto blurted out without thinking. “I know I said before I didn’t want to let her out of my sight, but there was no time to explain at the time…” He then sighed heavily before explaining. “I…had a nightmare the night before we confronted Ardyn that something like this would happen, but I had no idea…it would come true…”

He bit his lip anxiously when he finished speaking, hoping Noctis wasn’t mad at him.

Noctis regarded him for a long moment, before he sighed softly, and rested his head on his sister’s shoulder. “…’s okay…” he murmured. “We… we got to her in time… so… so she’ll be… fine…”

“Yeah… I’m glad Cloud helped her…” Prompto murmured, before sitting by Noctis in the nest. “Speaking of which… I…I have some news to share with you.”

“…hm?”

“While we were going after Ardyn, I found out that Cloud…is a white dragon…and so am I…” the blonde confessed quietly.

“…!” At that word, Noctis actually looked up at Prompto in surprise. “Wha!? How?!”

“I’m like the MT’s, where I was genetically engineered… but Cloud got me out and to my parents when I was only a week old… I don’t remember anything about being a dragon…” Prompto mumbled, tears of frustration forming in his eyes.

“……” Noctis watched the blonde for a moment, before he frowned sadly. “…hey.” Upon the call, Prompto looked up, at which point he saw Noctis gesturing for him to come over.

The blonde went over, unsure of what Noctis was going to do.

As he came in range, and Noctis had waved at him to crouch down, the dragon tugged Prompto into a hug. “It’s okay…” he murmured. “Don’t worry… it doesn’t change who you are…”

“I know, but…I want to remember…” Prompto whimpered.

“If you were only a week old… there’s little to do about it…” Noctis pointed out, rubbing his back. “I don’t even remember what I was like at a week old… so don’t beat yourself up over it.”

“It just sucks, though… I want to be like you guys… I…want to be the dragon I am…” the blonde sniffled.

“It’s okay…” Noctis assured again. “We can teach you once Regina’s better…”

“…Really?”

“Hmhmm. Promise.”

“…Thank you, Noct…” Prompto whispered, unable to resist curling a little closer. He eventually gave a watery laugh before he spoke again. “Besides, I’ll need your guys’ help with the dragonlings we saved…”

“Huh?”

“Cloud and I saved 7 white dragonlings from the ‘storage unit’ the Empire had that Ardyn had fled to… We didn’t get him in time, but we saved 7 of the dragonlings inside, plus one that was on the brink of death that didn’t want to be left behind,” Prompto explained. “It’s doing better now, though, it seems. So now there’s 8.”

That news clearly surprised Noctis, but shortly after, he smiled softly. “Really? That’s… that’s good… at least we saved some of them, then…”

“Yeah,” Prompto smiled. “I…was terrified that the one wouldn’t make it, but it’s really doing better, thanks to its sibling. It got my attention to it in time.”

“Hahah… yeah… good on them…”

“Definitely,” Prompto murmured, before yawning. “I…I’d better get back to them, just in case…” he sighed, starting to sit up.

“…Kay…” Noctis murmured. “I’d go with you, but… I can’t leave Regina alone…”

“I know…” the blonde mumbled, feeling torn. He wanted to stay with Noctis, but he also knew he needed to get back to the little ones. “…Just…let me know if anything changes, okay?”

“As long as you do the same…”

“I will, promise,” Prompto smiled slightly, before getting out of the nest. “I’ll see you later.” And with that, he left, returning to Noctis’s cavern and the dragonlings inside.

When he came into the cavern, the dragonlings were still napping, with the weakest one still being used as a pillow for its sibling. As he came over, though, the dragonling slowly blinked its eyes open, looking up slowly with dark, amethyst eyes.

“Hey there,” Prompto murmured, gently rubbing its head. “Feeling a bit better?”

“…mrrr…” it purred softly, lightly flicking its tail.

“Good,” the blonde smiled, relieved. “You had me really worried, you know.”

“…mrraaah…” Just then, the other dragonling gave a small grunt and blinked its eyes open, blinking curiously.

“Hey,” Prompto smiled, reaching over and rubbing the other one’s head, too. “Have a good nap?”

“…murrr…” the dragonling whined.

“What’s wrong?” Prompto asked, concerned.

Lazily, the dragonling reached up and rubbed at its eyes, yawning widely.

This made the blonde chuckle. “I’ll bet you guys are getting hungry, huh?”

“Muruh…”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Prompto smiled. “I just don’t know what to feed you all…”

Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry about that for long, as a familiar knock came from the door.

“Come in,” Prompto called.

Shortly after, Ignis came into the cavern, carrying a tray in one arm, on which rested a number of bowls that smelled very meaty. And that was enough to rouse the other dragonlings, as they all blinked and mewled, scrambling over each other.

“You have perfect timing, Ignis,” Prompto chuckled as he looked over.

Ignis chuckled softly as he walked over to the nest. “I had a feeling they’d be getting hungry by now,” he said as he set the bowls down one by one.

“I don’t blame them for being hungry, anyway,” Prompto agreed. “I’m sure they weren’t getting proper food in that place, anyway.”

“I doubt it…” Ignis agreed, as the two of them watched the dragonlings scampering over and starting on their food happily. The only one who didn’t bother to move was the weaker one.

“You okay, buddy?” Prompto asked, before grabbing a bowl of food and bringing it over. “C’mon, you gotta eat…”

“…” The dragonling didn’t try to eat, though it did rest its head down quietly.

“How come you don’t wanna eat…?” Prompto frowned worriedly.

“Ah. That explains why this one’s weaker…” Ignis murmured, as he reached into a bag he’d brought with him. What he pulled out was a piece of dragonfruit. “Some young can be very picky with their food. And it appears that’s why it’s grown so weak,” he explained as he cut the fruit open along the side, and then let the juices pour out over the meat dish he’d prepared.

Once the human pulled back, the dragonling’s nose twitched and it lifted its head briefly. Then, with a little bit of difficulty, it dragged itself over and began to slowly eat as well.

“Thanks, Ignis,” Prompto said gratefully. “Hopefully that’ll help.”

“I’m sure it will,” Ignis assured, watching as the dragonlings happily munched on their food and ate their fill. “However, I fear that this one may prove to be a little more difficult to handle,” he added with a small smirk.

“I think I can handle it,” Prompto assured him. “Whatever it takes to give them all a fighting chance.”

Ignis chuckled softly. “Good. I’m sure these little ones will do fine with you watching over them.”

“Thanks, Ignis,” the blonde smiled gratefully, before focusing on the dragonlings again. “…I wish I knew more, to be honest…” he admitted.

“Trust me, it’s not as hard as you believe it to be,” Ignis assured. “You’ll be an expert before you know it.”

“…Even with eight of them?” Prompto questioned. “You know that humans don’t have that many at a time normally… I’m gonna have my hands full.”

Ignis merely chuckled as the dragonlings finally finished and then proceeded to find a spot to cuddle up and sleep again. “For now, they’ll mostly be eating and sleeping. It will take a while before they become really active.”

“Really? That’s good, then…” Prompto murmured. “…How old do you think they are?”

Humming, Ignis regarded the dragonlings for a few moments. “…Given their size… probably no more than a few days.”

“Geez… So young…” the smaller male breathed. “I just…I’m horrified that the Empire would do this to such young lives…”

“Try not to think too much on it,” Ignis said, patting Prompto’s shoulder. “It won’t do to get angry; they can sense your emotions.”

“Yeah…” Prompto nodded, before moving to lie down with them. “I think I’m gonna follow their example and get some sleep, too… Haven’t slept in a while…”

“Alright. I’ll leave you to it, then,” Ignis said as he stood. “Sleep well.”

“Thanks, Ignis,” Prompto murmured, sighing quietly as the sandy blonde left. He had been serious when he’d said he wished he knew more. He also wished he could _do_ more, as in shift and teach the dragonlings to be the dragons they were meant to be. But for now, he would have to rely on Noctis and Regina for that. Closing his eyes, the blonde soon drifted off to sleep with the dragonlings.


	18. Beginning after an Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the end of every chapter, a new one begins.

_When Prompto opened his eyes next, he was in the sky of his own accord, the steady beat of wings sounding very close to him. Looking back, he noticed that he had a pair of large, leathery wings that were similar to Noct’s, only they were white instead of black. He quickly realized that he was dreaming of flying again, like he used to. This time, though, with the full knowledge that it wasn’t even that odd for him. And as he looked back he could see the dragonlings, larger and more developed now, watching him eagerly from the ground below._

_“Come on, like me!” he called down with a grin. “You can do it!”_

_The little ones looked a bit worried, almost scared, except for the lighter-scaled dragonling (the weaker one) and its sibling. It watched Prompto for a moment, before it chirped brightly and began to flap its wings happily, hopping up and running after Prompto._

_“There ya go!” the blonde praised._

_Despite the dragonling’s enthusiasm, it took a bit before it was able to take off from the air. And it wasn’t until the little one had taken off that the other dragonlings began to copy it, hopping over while flapping their wings._

_“You guys can do this!” Prompto encouraged, hovering nearby them as he watched._

_The dragonlings chirped and growled, before, one by one, they started lifting off from the ground, fluttering up with happy chirps._

_“There you go! Great job!” Prompto grinned, flying over to them and then along with them._

_“Mraaah!” the dragonlings chirped, fluttering after Prompto as best as they could with their smaller wings._

_“You’re all doing great!” Prompto called with a smile, staying with them._

_Suddenly, though, there was a small black blur that whizzed by overhead._

_“Huh?!” Prompto gasped, looking to where it was heading._

_As he looked, he spotted another dragonling, only it was slightly bigger, and its scales were black._

_“Amare?” Prompto guessed, looking at it curiously._

_At the call, the dragonling turned and looked at Prompto curiously. When he spotted the blonde, he giggled. “Hi~hi~”_

_“It’s good to see you!” Prompto smiled happily. “You doing okay?”_

_“Uh-huh!” Amare chirped as he flew around Prompto in circles. The other dragonlings, upon seeing him, chirped and began to fly after him. “I was gonna see Mama! So we can go to Papa!” the dragonling said excitedly._

_“Okay, okay…” Prompto chuckled, before it clicked what Amare was saying. “Wait WHAT?!”_

_Amare didn’t seem to catch the shock on the blonde’s face as he giggled. “I gotta go! Mama’s waiting!” he chirped, before he turned and flew off._

_“Amare! WAIT!!” Prompto cried out in a panic…_

 

…right before he woke up from his dream in shock. Alarmed now, Prompto quickly scrambled out of Noctis’s nest before dashing off to Regina’s cavern.

As Prompto rushed into the room, Noctis was fast asleep against his sister. Regina, meanwhile, seemed to be sleeping peacefully. However, as he looked closely, Prompto realized that she was breathing far too slowly, even for someone who was supposed to be asleep.

“Noct, wake up…!” Prompto pleaded, before going to Regina. “Regina, no! You can’t!” he begged, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Buh… wha…?” Noctis groaned, blinking awake. “Prom…? What…?”

While Regina would’ve normally woken up from the shout, this time, she didn’t even stir.

“Noct, she’s dying!” Prompto whimpered. “I-I had a dream, and Amare appeared, saying he was going to get Regina so they could go see Ravus…!”

“What?!?!” Noctis choked as he bolted up in alarm. “But… but she was doing better!!”

“She’s breathing way too slow right now, though…!” Prompto cried out, terrified.

“A-ah…!” Noctis moved over and looked at his sister, realizing that Prompto was right. “Regina…! Regina, wake up!!” he called, shaking his sister firmly.

“…a…ah…” Regina slowly opened her eyes halfway, but her eyes were clouded and didn’t appear to be seeing anything. “…No…ct…?”

“Regina, you can’t go! Please!” Prompto pleaded desperately, scared out of his mind right now.

Regina slowly blinked her eyes, not seeming to hear Prompto. Noctis whimpered as he saw this, and he shook his sister again. “Regina, please, I-I don’t know what’s going on, but… you can’t… you can’t die…! Please…!”

“Regina, please! We can’t lose you!!” Prompto begged, tears starting to flow freely by now.

“…” Regina didn’t say anything, and she didn’t appear to have heard them. That is, until she turned her head just enough to look at her brother. “…Noct… A… Ama said… he said… Ra…vus is waiting…”

“Regina! Amare’s not… he’s… he’s not real… you can’t listen to him…!” Noctis choked out. “Please… don’t do this to us, Regina…!!”

“Regina, _please_ , no!!” the blonde cried out, knowing Amare was taking Regina, just like in his dream.

“…Noct…” Regina whispered. “I… I want to go to him…”

“I know you do! But you can’t…! If you do… you’ll… you’ll…!!” Noctis couldn’t even finish it, as tears of his own filled his eyes.

“Regina, I’m sorry…!” Prompto choked out. “I’m so sorry!! This is all my fault…!!”

As if she’d just noticed Prompto, Regina turned her head to him instead. “…why are you… crying…?” she got out slowly, blinking her eyes slowly.

“Because this is my fault! I had a dream this would happen, but I did nothing to stop it! We can’t lose you, Regina, because…you’re my friend, and Noct’s sister… We can’t lose you!!” Prompto whimpered.

Suddenly, there was a cold touch to his face, which, upon looking over, turned out to be Regina’s claw. “…don’t… cry…” she rasped out. “…I… I’m… sorry… I was… such a ho…horrible person…”

“I understand, Regina, I understood for a while…” Prompto promised as he took hold of her claw. “I’m glad this all happened, because I got to show you that not all humans are bad, right?”

The dragon blinked once more, before her mouth curled up into a smile. “…yeah… they’re… not all… bad…” she agreed softly.

Noctis whimpered softly as he took his sister’s other hand and clutched it tightly in his own.

“Regina…” Prompto whispered, holding her claw against his cheek. “I’m not even human, anyway… Cloud told me I’m a white dragon when we rescued 8 white dragonlings from the Empire… I don’t remember being one, but I want you to know…”

“…are you…?” Regina murmured, her head rolling a bit. “…kay…” she said finally. “…least… the lil ones… will be ‘kay…” She then turned away again, looking to the ceiling. “…ah… arrite, Ama… I’m coming…”

“Regina! _No!!_ ” Noctis cried in alarm.

All Prompto could do at this point was whimper in despair, knowing there was nothing they could do. He truly wished that more could have been done, but it was clear at this point, nothing could be.

Regina looked at her brother one more time, smiling softly. “Noct… sor…ry… but… I… need to go…”

“No!! No you can’t do this!! Regina don’t you dare!! Please no!!!”

But his sister merely smiled softly, gently squeezing her brother’s hands. “…take… care of… Fa…ther…” she breathed out… and then she fell silent. Completely…

The grip she’d had on her brother’s hands slackened, and the one Prompto was holding almost slipped out of his hands, as her eyes turned white and then fell shut.

“…! N-no…!! No no no no!! Regina!! No!!! Don’t you…! You can’t…! _Regina!!!_ ” Noctis cried, beginning to shake his sister by her shoulders, trying to get her to wake up.

“…she’s gone, Noct…” Prompto whispered.

“…no…no she… she can’t… she can’t just…!!” Noctis choked out, whimpering.

“I’m sorry, Noct…” Prompto whimpered, looking at him miserably.

The black dragon whined pitifully, tears rolling down his chin as he bit at his lip to keep himself quiet. Sadly, that only lasted for about five seconds before he gave a heart-wrenching roar and flopped down over his sister’s body, hugging her tightly as he cried. Prompto whimpered softly as he took Noctis’s clawed hand in his, before looking up when he heard the door opening.

And he wasn’t really surprised when it realized that it was Regis standing in the doorway, looking more than a little frazzled, likely because of his son’s earlier cry. When he saw Noctis sprawled over his sister, though, that expression crumbled and a look of shock and remorse replaced it, as he immediately realized what had happened. Without a word said, he then walked over and easily stepped into the nest to his youngest, placing a claw on his shoulder.

Noctis, in response, barely managed to lift his head, whimpering. “D…Dad…! She… she’s not… she’s not waking up…!!” he wailed, barely able to get the words out properly.

Regis bit his lip, but he said nothing as he pulled Noctis up into a hug, where the younger dragon wailed and cried, repeating over and over that it wasn’t fair and that she couldn’t do this to them.

Prompto bit his lip harshly as he watched, feeling incredibly guilty.

And it only got worse when he saw that Regis was just as heartbroken, if not more so, than Noctis over the loss of his eldest child. Even if he didn’t make a sound, the silent tears he shed were proof enough of his pain.

Quietly, Prompto went over and hugged Noctis, before reaching over and placing a comforting hand on Regis’s arm.

While Noct didn’t seem to have realized the extra hug, Regis nodded softly in thanks as he held his only remaining child close to him, letting the poor boy bawl at the loss of his only sibling. The blonde squeezed his eyes shut against the sting of tears forming again, and he truly wished he could have prevented this.

It felt like hours before Noctis finally cried himself to sleep, tears still rolling out from his eyes, even in sleep. Regis gently rubbed his son’s back, sighing heavily, before he stood up, lifting the smaller dragon up in his arms.

“…What do we do now, Regis…?” Prompto asked softly.

“…there’s little we can do now…” Regis murmured softly, looking down at his daughter’s solemn form. “Come,” he said then, beginning to walk out of the room.

The blonde nodded, and then followed after Regis, glancing back at Regina one last time before he left the cavern.

The Alpha walked quietly, the only sound through the halls being his claws scraping along the ground, as he walked into Noct’s cavern. As they stepped through, Prompto immediately spotted one of the dragonlings perking its head up with a curious chirp, though there was a hint of sadness to it.

Prompto made his way over to the nest, before he sighed sadly as he began to pet the dragonling’s head. “It’ll be okay, little one…” he murmured, really hoping he was right.

“…mraah?” it chirped, before its attention went to Regis as the older dragon gently lowered his son into the nest. Once the younger dragon was placed down, Regis tugged an animal fur over his son, quietly tucking him in without a word.

“…Is there anything I can do, Regis?” the blonde asked, looking at the Alpha in quiet question.

“For now… just stay with him, please,” the older dragon said softly.

“I will,” Prompto nodded, looking at his friend sadly. “…I’m really sorry…”

Regis shook his head quietly. “It’s not your fault…” he murmured. “And… perhaps, it’s for the better… perhaps now… she can finally find her happiness again…”

“…Yeah…” Prompto nodded, biting his lip. “She…she said Amare was taking her…and that Ravus was waiting…”

“I see…” Shockingly, those words actually made him smile a little. “Then… surely she’s precisely where she wishes to be now… much as we will miss her dearly…”

“Especially Noct…” Prompto agreed.

Regis nodded, before a small chirping had them both looking over, noticing that the dragonling from before had now crawled under the animal fur and was cuddling up to Noctis, mewling and licking up his tears a bit.

“…That one’s pretty sensitive, huh?” Prompto smiled slightly. “Maybe these little ones will help as a good distraction…”

“Let’s hope…” the Alpha murmured. Rather than say anything else, he placed a claw on Prompto’s shoulder, squeezed briefly, and then headed out silently.

Once he was gone, the blonde climbed into the nest with the other occupants, before settling down with Noctis by his side the dragonling wasn’t occupying. “I’ll always be here, Noct…” he whispered, before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

 

Prompto wasn’t sure how long he slept for, but when he woke up again, it was to a gentle nudging to his cheek.

“Mrraaah!”

“Huh…?” the blonde uttered, before blinking open his eyes to see one of the dragonlings right in front of him. Before coming to Insomnia, he probably would have been startled out of his mind, but by now, he wasn’t nearly as jumpy. “Well, hey,” he smiled slightly, rubbing the dragonling’s head. “You hungry?” he guessed, before sitting up with a yawn.

“Mrah!” the young chirped, its tail flicking back and forth with its red-tipped blade seeming to glow.

“You’re so spirited,” Prompto chuckled, looking to the others. “Well, I’d better see if Ignis can help me get you all fed, then.”

“Mrrr!” the little dragon chirped, bouncing around Prompto as its brethren slowly started waking up as well.

The blonde laughed softly at the excited actions of the dragonling, but then he looked down at Noctis when he started to get out of the nest. He hesitated then, biting his lip uncertainly. He needed to care for the dragonlings, but he didn’t want to leave Noctis…

As if Prompto’s worry, the dragonling yipped, as it hopped over to Noctis and curled around the older dragon’s head, nuzzling his snout against the black dragon’s cheek. Which, of course, wasn’t enough to wake him.

“I think it’s gonna take more than that, little guy,” Prompto chuckled.

“Murr.”

“You’re so silly,” Prompto smiled, before his expression became thoughtful as he thought about how to wake Noctis without that water ball Ignis typically used.

As Prompto considered that, though, the weakest of the dragonlings regarded Noctis quietly, tilting its head curiously.

“You doing okay, buddy?” the blonde asked, looking at it. “…I bet you can tell how sad he is, huh?”

“…” It didn’t make a sound, but it did flick its tail with a light blue blade at the tip lightly.

Prompto sighed quietly, wishing he understood them a bit better. Even so, he was at least trying.

Just then, the dragonling with the red tail tip shimmied under the animal fur, chirping a bit with its tail wagging happily. And then, with a jolt, Noctis gasped and bolted up in alarm. “What the?!”

At that, the blonde couldn’t help but bust out in laughter at the dragonling’s antics. “That’ll do it!” he laughed.

“Mrah!” the dragonling chirped as Noctis lifted the fur to look at him.

“…are you serious?” he sighed heavily.

“I think this is gonna be a regular thing now, Noct,” Prompto chuckled, reaching over and rubbing the dragonling’s head.

“Mrrrrr~” the dragonling purred happily.

“…somehow I’m not surprised…” Noctis murmured softly.

“At least this one’s pretty active. Its sibling, not so much, but maybe that’ll change with some time,” Prompto said. “…How are you feeling, by the way…?”

“………” For a moment, Noctis almost seemed confused… until everything from the day before caught up to him and his expression fell.

Realizing he’d messed up, Prompto was quick to apologize. “S-sorry…”

“…?? Mraah?” the hyper dragonling cooed, moving toward Noctis and moving up against him, nuzzling his cheek. “Mrrraaaaah!”

This caused Noctis to tense for a moment, before he sighed and reached up and gently rubbed the little one’s snout.

The blonde sighed heavily, before looking at the raven apologetically. “I…I’m sorry, Noct… I wasn’t thinking…”

“…it’s okay…” the black dragon murmured softly, as he ran his hands along the dragonling’s head and neck. “…nothing’s… going to change if I… keep moping…”

“Still…” Prompto sighed.

“It’s… it’s not your fault… it… it would’ve happened regardless…” Noctis murmured. “…but… at least now I… I know she can be… yanno… happy, finally…”

“Yeah…” the blonde mumbled.

Noctis sighed as he slowly stood up. “…anyway… I think these little ones are getting hungry…”

“More than likely,” Prompto nodded. “Let’s get them some food.”

“Right…” Noctis murmured, as he stepped out of the nest. Once he was out, he turned to the dragonlings and gave a growling-like noise from the back of his throat. Immediately, this got the small dragons’ attention and they hurried to scamper out over the nest, chirping and growling as they came along.

“What’d you tell them?” the blonde asked as he went with Noctis.

“Heh. ‘Let’s get food’.”

That drew a small laugh from Prompto. “No wonder they got so eager to follow,” he commented.

“Heh. Yeah… let’s go,” Noctis said as he began to walk off.

The smaller male was quick to tag along, looking back at the dragonlings on occasion. Who, naturally, happily hurried along, with the weakest of the group being the only exception; that one just went along without making a sound.

“…hey.”

“Hm?”

“You do realize you have to name them still, right?”

“Ah, right…!” Prompto nearly yelped as he realized Noctis was right. “…Mind helping me name them?”

“Heh. Sure thing.”

“Thanks, Noct,” the blonde smiled in relief.

Noctis nodded with a small smile as they headed for the dining room. And as they went in, Ignis was already busy cooking.

“Hey Ignis,” Prompto greeted.

At that, Ignis hummed as he looked up. “…Ah, morning,” he said calmly.

“The little ones are getting hungry again,” the blonde told him with a small laugh. “Mind if I help with feeding?”

“Sure thing,” Ignis said with a nod, as Noctis led the dragonlings over to the “pillows”.

“Thanks,” Prompto smiled as he joined the sandy blonde. “So…what _did_ you fix them yesterday?”

“Yesterday?” the sandy blonde asked, before he chuckled. “Croaker in Brown Sauce. It’s something most dragonlings like to munch on when they’re young.

“Mind showing me how to make it?” the blonde inquired. “Never heard of it, obviously.”

“Certainly,” Ignis said with a smile. “But let’s save that for tonight, shall we?”

“Okay, sounds good,” Prompto smiled. “What’ll be for breakfast, then?”

“Horntooth Meat Pie.”

“Huh. Haven’t heard of that one, either, obviously,” the blonde shrugged. “I’d like to know how to make it, then.”

“Very well then. Let’s begin…”

Once Prompto had gotten the recipe from Ignis and the meals were ready, he was soon setting down the bowls in front of each dragonling, mentally preparing himself to get a dragonfruit for the weaker, picky dragonling if needed.

Thankfully, this time it wasn’t necessary, as the dragonlings began to eat as soon as their food was placed in front of them, munching happily.

“At least we now know it likes this dish,” Prompto chuckled.

This made Ignis chuckle as Prompto joined Noctis on the seat, with the black dragon already busy with his own meat pie, munching quietly.

As Prompto began to eat his own meat pie, he contemplated on what to name them all. He had no idea about what to name them, but hopefully he’d figure something out.

“…Hey, Zidane,” Noctis said suddenly, tugging the red-tipped dragonling back from bothering the weaker dragonling, “leave your sibling alone to eat.”

“Mrah!”

“Huh?” Prompto uttered.

“What?” Noctis said simply as he rubbed his fingers along the dragonling’s head.

“Naming them without me, huh?” Prompto guessed with a small laugh.

“So get with the program,” the dragon chuckled.

The blonde stuck his tongue out playfully in response, before thinking to himself as he looked at the weaker dragonling. “…You like this one better than yesterday’s, huh Kuja?” he smiled, rubbing the aforementioned’s head gently.

The dragonling briefly looked up with a bit of meat pie in its mouth, but, again, didn’t make a sound as it went back to eating.

“You’re a quiet one, huh?” Prompto chuckled.

“………”

That made Noctis smile a bit, as the other dragonlings gradually finished eating. However, just then, his gaze shifted to the opposite side of the “table”.

“Hm?” Prompto followed his gaze, looking over curiously.

When he followed the gaze, though, he saw nothing… until he realized that Noctis was looking at the seat that was usually occupied by his sister. The blonde’s bright blue gaze saddened at the realization, before he placed a comforting hand on Noctis’s arm.

The dragon briefly tensed, before he took a deep breath and sighed heavily. “…I’m okay…” he murmured softly.

“All right…” Prompto nodded quietly. “I’m here if you wanna talk, though, y’know?”

“…I know… thanks…”

“Anytime,” the smaller male smiled slightly.

Suddenly, one of the dragonlings came over and popped out from under Noct’s arm, purring a little bit as it snuggled up against him. “Ah… it’s okay, Mikoto,” Noctis said softly as he rubbed its neck.

“Okay, so that’s three down, five more names to come up with…” Prompto murmured with a smile.

“We’ll figure it out, I’m sure…” the black dragon said with a small smile.

“True,” the blonde agreed. “So, now that they’ve eaten, think they’re gonna nap again?”

“Probably…” Noctis murmured.

“I bet you’d like to nap, too, huh?” Prompto teased with a chuckle.

“If I could…”

“I don’t see an issue with it, personally. Ignis?” Prompto said in inquiry.

“At this time, I don’t believe there is a reason not to…” Ignis admitted, before frowning. “Though, perhaps your father may want to see you at a later time…”

“…right…”

“…Would I…be allowed to go, too?” the smaller male asked hesitantly, realizing what it was for.

“…I’m sure you would be more than welcome… but… do you really want to?” Noctis asked worriedly.

“I wanna be there, for you and her…” Prompto murmured.

“…thank you, Prom…”

“Of course, Noct…”

“Mrrraaah?” one of the other dragonlings chirped curiously.

“It’s okay, Ventus,” Prompto soothed, petting its neck.

That made Noctis smile a bit, as the remaining dragonlings began to yawn lazily. “…Right… let’s go back,” Noctis murmured as he stood up, calling out to the small dragons. Those, in response, began to chirp and toddle after them.

“Thank Bahamut I have you to help me, Noct,” Prompto murmured as he followed after as well. “I think I’d have my hands full without you.”

“Yeah,” the dragon murmured, as they headed down the hall.

“So, I know you said before you don’t remember what you were like at a week old, but do you remember when you learned to shift, at least? Just curious,” the blonde questioned.

“…Uh… I think… that was about after two months, I think…”

“Huh. That’s interesting,” Prompto murmured. “I don’t even remember anything from before I was about four years old…”

“The only reason I remember is because Dad told me…” Noctis pointed out. “Earliest I remember is… yeah, ‘round three or four years…”

“Ah, okay, sorry…” the blonde apologized. Looking back at the dragonlings fondly, he smiled softly. “…I’m looking forward to this with them.”

Noct chuckled softly as they reached his cavern. Almost immediately, the dragonlings scampered to the nest, clambering in to find a good spot to nap.

“Let’s follow their example,” Prompto smiled, closing the door behind them.

“Yeah,” Noctis murmured, as he climbed in the nest as well, quickly finding a good spot for himself to nap.

The blonde joined him shortly after, lying down by the black dragon’s side. “Sleep well, Noct…” he murmured.

“…yeah… back at you…” Noctis murmured softly.

Prompto smiled slightly at the words, feeling his heart warm slightly, before he closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	19. Fly Away Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After any long day, it's important to go home once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the reason this took so long was because earlier, I asked if you guys wanted the Cloud/Zack portion in here, and after some feedback and careful thinking, we decided to put those parts in a completely separate story that will actually show how Cloud ended up there in the first place. This took some time to start up, so in the end, I figured, let's just finish this one and focus on the rest later.
> 
> So look forward to that.

Chapter 19: Turning Life Around

Meanwhile, back in Galahd, underground, Valanx and Niche were in the process of clearing out all the dragonlings that, unfortunately hadn’t made it. The vast majority of them hadn’t managed to last, and the few that did barely managed long after. And adding to that were also the more adult dragons who, due to their emaciated state, were barely able to walk, let alone stand up.

Riku held Sora close to him as they waited outside the ‘storage unit’, hoping that the pair inside were okay. He knew they were both capable fighters, thanks to before, but he still worried about them. After all, he felt a sort of ‘brotherly-esque’ bond might have formed, considering their mutual hatred and work against Ardyn.

Sora, on the other hand, hoped that Prompto was okay. He had noticed how the blonde had been very off upon emerging from the unit, so he was worried about him.

“…Think Prompto’s okay, Riku?” he asked.

“I’m sure he is, Sor. He’s managed this long, after all.”

“Right…”

Just then, Valanx emerged from hatch, pulling out a large barrel that had been shut firmly, setting it aside, before he turned so that he could take the other barrel that Niche was passing him.

“Hey,” Riku greeted. “No more survivors, I take it…?”

“……none,” Valanx confirmed.

“Damn…” the silverette sighed. “I guess…it’s for the best, then…”

“Valanx? Do you know why the Empire was using white dragons? And what’s so special about them?” Sora questioned curiously.

“…white dragons have always been wanderers…” Valanx said solemnly as Niche climbed out, carrying another barrel with her. “…they were likely just… easy targets for the Empire…”

“Oh…” Sora murmured, lowering his ocean-blue gaze. “That’s so sad…”

Valanx said nothing more on the matter, as he turned to Niche. “Was that the last of them?”

“…there’s still a few of the adults left… I’ll get them…” she said, going back down.

“Geez, that far developed…” Riku growled. “It’s sickening…”

“…the tanks seem meant to speed up growth…” Valanx murmured softly.

“That’s horrible…!” Sora whimpered.

Valanx, of course, said nothing to that, as he merely waited for Niche to come back, which took her only a few minutes. “Done?”

“Done,” she confirmed, pulling up the final barrel.

“Where’d Cloud go, by the way?” Riku inquired once the hatch was closed again.

“…perhaps to his own home. I cannot say.”

“Maye we should check on him?” Sora suggested.

“Feel free to do so,” Valanx said solemnly as he caught the rope Niche tossed him. “We need to focus on getting these young ones home.”

“Right,” Riku nodded, smiling slightly. “Travel safely, and maybe we’ll see each other again soon.”

Valanx merely nodded as he worked on tying the barrels together so that he and Niche could get them home in one go.

“Let’s go check on Cloud, Riku,” Sora said once they’d left, and the silverette nodded before the couple headed to Cloud’s home.

 

“…he should be leaving soon, right?” Niche asked as they were tying up the barrels and ensuring that the lids were secured properly.

“…Probably,” Valanx agreed as he pulled on the rope firmly, so that it stayed in place.

Niche snorted a bit as she pressed the barrels’ lids in place firmly. “I’m shocked one of his kind would choose to stick around so long.”

“…the world is full of surprises,” Valanx said by way of agreement as they both finished preparing the barrels. “Shall we go?”

“May as well… hm?” When Niche turned her head, frowning, Valanx hummed, glancing in the same direction. “…sounds like they don’t agree…”

“…” Sighing, Valanx shook his head and turned around. “…I’ll make sure they don’t do something they will regret… I’ll be right back…”

“Whatever…” Niche mumbled, as she leaned forward to rest her upper body on the barrel to wait. “Just hurry up… the Alpha awaits us.”

“…Of course.”

The other dragon said nothing else as Valanx walked off, and she leaned her head on one hand, lightly tapping her nails along the barrel as she waited. Sometimes she wasn’t even sure what Valanx was thinking, but she’d gotten used to dealing with him over time.

Absently, though, she was wondering how much longer he’d take before attempting to court.

She wasn’t sure how long she’d been waiting, but, finally, Valanx returned calmly.

“And?”

“…he was about to shift. Anxiety, most likely…”

“Huh… so… is he staying?”

“…I really cannot say.”

“Hm…”

“…Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

Without any more words spoken between them, the pair shifted, lifted up the barrels, and took off for Insomnia once again.

 

When Prompto woke again, it was to a steady prodding to his backside, followed by a small whine.

“Huh…?” the blonde uttered, opening his eyes with a yawn before looking behind him.

Sitting there was the dragonling now called “Zidane”, tilting its head and watching him with a small mewl.

“Well hey, Zidane,” Prompto smiled. “Hungry?”

“Mrrah!”

“Okay, okay. Let’s get Noct up, and then we’ll see about getting you all some dinner,” Prompto chuckled.

“Mrrr~”

The blonde laughed softly, before turning over to look at Noctis. “Hey Noct, time to get up,” he said, reaching out and placing his hand on the raven’s shoulder.

As expected, though, Noctis didn’t respond.

“Of course…” Prompto sighed, before looking at Zidane. “Mind helping me, Zidane?”

“Mrah!” Zidane chirped, scrambling over and beginning to move all over the black dragon, mewling and chirping happily.

“…nnnrrrgh…”

“That’s the ticket,” the blonde chuckled in amusement.

As Zidane scrambled across Noctis, the dragon groaned before he finally opened one eye. “Dammit… seriously? “

“Yep. Sorry, Noct,” Prompto apologized. “I know I’m a white dragon, but I was raised human, so I’m going about this almost blindly.”

“Ugh… fiiiiine…” he grumbled as he got up.

The blonde smiled at the black dragon before looking at Zidane. “I think you’ll be a good alarm clock for Noct, huh?” he laughed lightly.

“Mrr?” Zidane ‘asked’ with its head tilted. And he wasn’t the only one confused.

“…what’s an ‘alarm clock’?”

“Something that wakes you up at a certain time with a loud noise when you set it,” Prompto shrugged. “I never needed one since I tend to be an early riser, anyway.”

“Ugh… why’s that even a thing…?” Noctis groaned, rubbing at his eyes.

“Because some people need to be up at certain times, but don’t wake up naturally at that time,” the blonde chuckled. “Kinda like you.”

“Very funny…”

Prompto merely smiled in amusement before he sat up. “All right, let’s go and see about getting these little guys some food.”

“Right, right…”

“Mrrraaah!” Zidane chirped as he scampered around the nest, waking up the rest of his siblings as well.

“Waking everyone up, huh? Thanks, Zidane,” Prompto smiled, rubbing the dragonling’s head.

The small dragon purred happily, and Noctis snorted a bit as he stood up. “Alright… let’s go.”

As they headed out, Prompto occasionally glanced at Noctis in concern, hoping he was really okay. After all, losing a sibling (or family member in general) was always hard.

Zidane hurried on before long, chirping happily, likely already knowing where they had to go. Kuja trailed behind all the others, though.

“You okay, Kuja?” the blonde asked, looking back at said dragonling in slight concern. He couldn’t help but still worry about the little one, especially since he’d been so close to death’s door.

“…” The small dragonling didn’t say anything, of course; just trailed after slowly, not appearing to be in any hurry like the others.

Prompto sighed at the lack of any response, but shrugged it off shortly after.

Finally, they reached the kitchen. Shockingly, Ignis wasn’t there for once.

“Huh? I wonder where Ignis is…” Prompto frowned curiously.

“Probably… working on some stuff,” Noctis murmured, and it became clear from how he said it what he was likely working on.

“Oh…” the blonde uttered, lowering his gaze sadly.

“…guess we’ll have to wait…” Noctis murmured.

“Yeah…” Prompto agreed, before he perked up. “Actually, maybe I can fix their food.”

“Really?”

“Can’t be too bad, right?”

“I dunno… I suck at it…”

“Well, obviously I don’t,” the blonde chuckled, before beginning to move around to seek out ingredients. “I’ll just make the same as this morning.”

“Sounds good.”

Prompto merely smiled as he found everything he needed, and soon began to cook enough for them all. Once he was finished, he dished everyone up, and began to set out the bowls for the dragonlings before handing a bowl to Noctis.

“Thanks,” Noctis said softly as he took the bowl, while the dragonlings quickly moved to their own food happily.

“No sweat,” the blonde assured him, before sitting beside him with his own bowl.

Like that, they ate quietly, with the dragonlings munching happily, with Kuja eating the slowest of the group.

“…So we’ve got four of them… right?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Prompto nodded, realizing Noctis was referring to the dragonlings’ names.

Looking over at one of the unnamed dragonlings, he said, “Ace? Like my cooking compared to Ignis’s?”

“Mrrraaaah!” the dragonling chirped with a mouthful.

“Good to know I can be compared in a good way,” the blonde laughed lightly.

Noctis chuckled softly as he ate, watching the other dragonlings as they ate.

“So that’s five down, three to go,” Prompto smiled.

“Hm… ah! Hey, Naminé, be careful!” Noctis called out, as one of the dragonlings hopped up onto his lap.

Prompto laughed at the dragonlings’ energy, definitely liking how they had so much playful energy to them. It made him happy that he and Cloud had been able to save them.

“Ah, careful, Aranea,” Prompto cautioned suddenly as another of the dragonlings bumped his arm playfully, nearly causing him to spill his food.

“Mrh!” one of the dragonlings chirped as it clambered along Prompto’s back.

“Hey! Tidus, get down from there!” Noctis laughed out.

“I need to finish my lunch, silly!” Prompto chuckled out as he set down his bowl for a moment and pulled the newly-dubbed Tidus off his back. Once he set Tidus back down, he resumed eating, soon finishing his portion.

“Heh… well that’s all of them, right?”

“Sure is. Thanks, Noct,” the blonde said gratefully.

“Don’t mention it,” Noctis said with a smile.

Prompto smiled back, before he chuckled as Ventus, Aranea, Zidane, and Naminé all crowded around him in a small heap.

Meanwhile, Kuja settled against Noctis, while Tidus climbed on his back as Ace and Mikoto got comfy in his lap.

“Well, they’re adjusting quick…” Noctis joked.

“They might as well,” Prompto shrugged. “After all, they have no real parents.”

“…true…” the dragon admitted.

“But this is better than them being alone. So, I’m happy as long as they’re happy.”

“…yeah…”

“…? You okay?”

“…yeah… I’m fine…” the dragon murmured, but it was clear that his mind was miles away.

“Noct, I may not know you as long as anyone else here does, but I know you well enough to know when something’s on your mind,” Prompto murmured. “…Is it Regina…?”

“……”

“I thought so…” the blonde mumbled. “You know I’m here to help, right? If you wanna talk, I’m here to listen, as your friend.”

As he said the word ‘friend’, though, he felt almost a pang of hurt in his heart for some reason that he didn’t understand. Instead of dwelling on it, however, he focused on the black dragon beside him.

“…I know… thank you…” Noctis murmured softly.

“Then take advantage, Noct. I’m not going anywhere. Wanna talk about it?”

“…” Noctis seemed to consider it for a long time, which was long enough for Mikoto to look up and blink, before she mewled and bumped her head into his chest. After looking down at the dragonling, Noctis sighed and lightly rubbed her head. “…just… I want her to be… happy… you know?”

“…I know, Noct, but I think she is now, even though we all miss her,” Prompto murmured, looking down as Zidane perked up at the mewl and rubbing the dragonling’s head calmly. “She’s with Ravus and Amare now, and they’re together again.”

“…yeah… she deserves that much, at least…”

“Of course she does. Just about everyone deserves to be happy.”

Noctis smiled softly, as Mikoto settled against his chest, purring softly. “Yeah…”

Tidus tilted his head as he curled around Noctis’ neck, clearly curious.

“It’s okay, buddy,” Prompto soothed, smiling warmly as he petted Ventus’ neck.

Tidus didn’t seem to understand what was being said, but at the same time he didn’t care as he settled where he was.

“Heh…” Noctis chuckled, even though it sounded somewhat forced by now.

The blonde smiled softly at the sight, even as Naminé nuzzled his hand.

Just then, Kuja lifted his head, looking up as someone approached them. When Noctis noticed this, he hummed, before he looked over. “…Ah, Gladio.”

“Hey, you two,” the brunette greeted, before looking around at the dragonlings. “I can watch them for a bit before taking them back to your cavern. It’s time.”

Prompto nearly winced at the words, before looking at Noctis worriedly.

“…ah… right…” the black dragon in question murmured. He reached up and picked up Tidus from around his neck, setting the dragonling down with the others as he slowly got up.

Prompto carefully stood as well, before following Noctis out. He was sorely tempted to take the raven’s clawed hand in his own as they made their way along, but he resisted, keeping them at his sides.

Once they were at the cavern, the dragonlings immediately scampered for the nest… except for Kuja, who stayed behind as though he _knew_ something was going on.

“Kuja, go with the others. It’ll be okay. We’ll be back soon,” Prompto told him, reaching over and gently pushing the dragonling further in. Kuja stumbled a bit, and he looked up briefly, before he did as he was told and headed over to the nest as well.

“…Thanks, Gladio…” Noctis murmured. “…sure you don’t… wanna come with…?”

“…I’ll go by later, so don’t worry about me,” Gladio assured him. “‘Sides, someone needs to watch them.” As he finished the sentence, he nodded in the direction of the dragonlings.

“Thank you, Gladio…” Prompto said softly.

“No sweat. Now, you two better get going,” the larger dragon said.

“Right… thanks again…” Noctis murmured, as he started heading out.

Prompto was quick to follow, sticking close to Noctis as they left.

The black dragon didn’t say anything as they walked, until, finally, they came to one of the many windows. Instead of leaping out, like he usually did, he adjusted his stance and shifted into his full dragon form right then and there.

Taking the hint, Prompto climbed on, placing a comforting hand on Noctis’s neck and rubbing gently once he was seated.

“…kay… let’s go…” Noctis mumbled, spreading his wings and taking off with one clap of the powerful limbs.

“Yeah…” the blonde nodded, holding on firmly and remaining pressed against Noctis’s neck.

Normally, it would’ve taken the black dragon barely 10 minutes to get anywhere, but for once, Noctis was taking his time going there. And Prompto knew he was putting off the inevitable (or trying to). But he was grateful. Even though he wanted to be there, he was still haunted by Regina’s death, no matter if no one blamed him for it.

 

When they finally arrived at the graveyard, Noctis touched down slowly, and lowered himself down to let Prompto down again. The blonde slid off, quietly thanking Noctis before waiting for him to lead the way.

Once he had shifted back, Noctis took a heavy breath, before letting it out as he began to walk ahead of Prompto. As the blonde began to follow, he felt kinda…weird, to be honest. He could feel a heavy tension and some pain in his back and shoulder blades, which he chalked up to being from the stress of the situation.

Suddenly, Noctis paused and he looked over to the side. The blonde did the same, looking over hesitantly… and he almost wished he hadn’t.

Because there were Valanx and Niche, accompanied by a few other dragons he’d never seen before, clawing at the ground to dig shallow graves across the expanse of the field they were in, before they moved to collect the bodies of the white dragonlings the pair had brought back. There were already some more dragons who were in the process of burying the older white dragons, patting at the earth around their body to ensure they would remain in place throughout the seasons.

Prompto nearly choked at the sight, the memory of when he’d last been here to bury the white dragonling that’d died in his arms coming back to the forefront of his mind. Just then, there was a brief touch to his hand, before Noct’s claw lightly curled around his hand.

The blonde looked at Noctis gratefully, biting his lip to hold back a whimper as he squeezed the raven’s claws lightly.

“…c’mon…” Noct whispered, lightly tugging Prompto with him.

And Prompto allowed himself to be tugged after, even as he blinked back the sting of oncoming tears.

Their destination this time was much further than they had been previously. They even had to travel through a dragon’s skeleton to get to a much larger field. Beyond that rested a large clearing, where Regis was already waiting, crouched down with Regina’s body in the center, holding her up against him. If they didn’t know better, it was almost like Regina was merely sleeping in her father’s arms.

The blonde felt a powerful jolt of emotion in his heart at the sight, and he could swear he felt his entire spine ache for some reason. However, he still believed it was due to the stress.

Noctis took a deep breath, before he walked over. “Hey…” he called out.

Regis looked up quietly. He didn’t say anything, just nodded as he gently placed Regina down again.

Prompto trailed after, biting his lip nervously as he tried not to focus on Regina’s body for too long.

As they reached Regis, Noctis dropped down into a crouch by his father’s side, looking to his sister briefly, before he glanced over to Regis. The older dragon nodded once, placing a hand on his son’s shoulder, squeezing lightly. After that, Noctis nodded and briefly scooted forward, wordlessly starting to claw at the ground there.

Now, even though Prompto had helped with the white dragonling last time, he wasn’t sure if he could help this time. But instead of dwelling on his own limitations, the blonde chose to be there for Noctis and joined him by his side, albeit slowly, and began to dig as well.

If Noctis was aware of the turmoil his friend was going through, he didn’t bring it up. Then again, he was more than likely having his own difficulty, even as his father started digging as well, his claws tearing away at the ground almost easily. Despite the ease with which they did so, it took almost 20 minutes before they had dug a grave that was big enough for Regina, given that she was much bigger than the dragonling they’d buried before.

Once the grave was dug, Prompto stood back a little, clenching his jaw tightly to keep quiet and feeling some pain in response, of course. He had a bad feeling he was going to break down like with his parents, if he was being completely honest with himself. And, really, who could really blame him? Her and Noct had begun almost like family to him at this point, despite the slew of arguments they'd had. Of course he was going to miss her dearly…

Regis took a deep breath then, as he reached out then, lifting up his daughter’s body in his arms. Noctis moved over quickly, helping his father to adjust her wings so she could be placed in the grave easily. And even then, it took a while to get her placed down in the grave, with her hands placed across her stomach.

Noctis bit his lip sharply at the sight, trembling minutely, even as he slowly began to push the earth over her, patting it down against her scales tenderly, as if he’d hurt her otherwise. Prompto helped as well, moving slowly as the pain and tension in his back, spine, shoulder blades, and jaw became greater with each passing second, and even his hands started to shake subtly as he moved.

When he noticed that, Noctis paused briefly, reaching out and taking Prompto’s hand in his own, squeezing briefly without saying a word.

The blonde inhaled deeply, almost sharply, at the touch, before he clenched his jaw again. Pausing in what he was doing, he reached back and scratched briefly at his neck, but when he did, he stiffened as he felt a familiar texture, but one he’d never felt on himself: scales.

“…Prom?” Noctis asked, looking up from patting at the earth to look at Prompto.

Deciding to try and wait on it, Prompto shook his head minutely in response to the call.

After all, this wasn’t about him.

“…” Noctis bit his lip worriedly, but he nodded softly, finally turning back to what he was doing, helping his father to push the earth over his sister’s upper body.

Prompto resumed helping as well, beginning to freak out internally. How come his dragon features were starting to emerge _now_?! **Especially** after all this time of hanging out with the two siblings!

Finally, Regis and Noctis pressed the last patches of earth against Regina’s face, keeping her head in place, before they sat back and quietly regarded her as she rested there, half-buried in the ground as she was. Noctis bit his lip sharply, clawing at the ground, with his wings trembling slightly against his back.

With the job done, Prompto felt himself shaking, almost violently, as a whimper finally broke through at the sight of Regina buried in the ground before them. But when the pain began to break through in his mind, he gasped sharply before collapsing to his knees with a cry, making Noctis and Regis turn to him in alarm.

“Prom!?” Noctis choked out, hurrying to his friend’s side as he grabbed at his head, nearly pulling at his hair. Noctis didn’t have the chance to do anything, though, as Regis grabbed his hand when he was about to reach for Prompto’s head. “Dad…!”

Regis shook his head briefly before he turned to Prompto, noting how the back of his shirt began to bulge out. “…get him out of those clothes.”

While Noctis seemed surprised at the words, he didn’t question it and nodded quickly, moving to remove Prompto’s hands. Which wasn’t easy, considering he kept reaching back up for his head in pain. In the end, Noctis growled and just went for the bottom of his shirt and began to pull it upward, ignoring the slightly startled squawk the blonde let out when he did. When his shirt was finally peeled back, his back was revealed to be covered in white and pale gold scales.

However, Noct had little time to gawk, as Prompto’s shoulder blades began to protrude further. Realizing what was happening, Noctis backed up just enough as a pair of golden-white wings extended from his back.

Prompto cried out in almost pain and alarm when they did, before he gave a loud whine/whimper as he felt his spine protest in pain as well.

“Damn…!” Noctis hissed, moving forward and pulling Prompto forward a bit. “Sorry,” he apologized quickly, before he began to pull down Prompto’s pants, with a bit of difficulty since he wasn’t in the best position for it.

The blonde couldn’t even protest as he was moved and his pants pulled off, and almost immediately after they were gone, a golden-white scaled tail extended out from the base of his spine. As the spindly tail snapped out left and right, Noctis worked on tugging on the pants, before he got stuck on the shoes and growled in annoyance. Still, he managed to get them off in record time, so that was good… especially when his feet and hands shifted into talons.

Prompto cried out at the changes to him that were happening, not understanding why **_now_**. He was so confused, and everything seemed to be happening much too fast for him.

Finally, though, the pain passed, and Prompto was left gasping and writhing on the floor. Noctis watched him for a long time, before he placed a hand on his shoulder. “…you okay?”

The blonde whimpered quietly, still trying to catch his breath, before slowly sitting up, his wings folding instinctually in the process. “…Y…yeah…”

His friend frowned sympathetically, reaching up and lightly patting his head.

Prompto kept his gaze on the ground, though, tears burning in them before beginning to flow freely as he looked at his claws, his vision blurring. “…I just…I don’t understand… Why now…?”

His friend shook his head to show he didn’t know. Regis, however, quietly came over and crouched down beside them. “It may have been the stress from the past few days just being too much…” the older dragon offered, placing a comforting claw on the newly turned dragon’s shoulder. “This… may just have been the last push for your shift…”

Prompto nodded slowly, quietly, his tail curling around him in an instinctual attempt to comfort himself. He didn’t want this to be about him, he’d wanted to support Noctis, be there for him, and comfort him through Regina’s burial. He felt incredibly guilty now.

As if seeming to realize what he was thinking, Noctis reached out and gently bumped his fist to the blonde’s shoulder. “It’s okay… if anything… I think Regina would’ve been happy that… somehow… she was able to help you,” he said with a small smile.

The white dragon peeked up at Noctis, tears still shimmering in his eyes. “…Really?” he asked, sounding like a lost child.

“Definitely,” Regis added with a warm smile of his own. “I know she wasn’t the easiest to deal with while you were here… but you can be sure she’d be happy for you. Even if the timing was less than stellar,” the older dragon admitted with a small chuckle.

Finally, Prompto managed to crack a tiny smile, before nodding softly and managing to get to his clawed feet. “Not sure I’ll be able to fly back yet, though…” he admitted shyly.

“Don’t worry,” Noctis assured. “I’ll carry you back for now. And we can start teaching you tomorrow, if you want.”

“Okay,” the blonde nodded. “I…I’d like that.”

His friend smiled softly, before he glanced back to Regina’s body briefly. “…Do you…” he started after a moment. “Do you want to… say goodbye…?”

Prompto tensed slightly, but he gave a minute nod.

Nodding in return, Noctis helped Prompto up, before leading him over to his sister’s body.

The blonde leaned slightly against the black dragon as they stood before Regina, before he took a deep breath and began to speak softly. “…Regina, thank you… for everything. For letting me help, letting me show you humans aren’t all horrible, for being my friend… and even for… this.” His wings shifted and his tail flicked at the mention. “I miss you already, but… I know we’ll meet again someday, just not soon. I just… I know you’re happy now. Tell Ama and Ravus ‘hi’ for me, please…” He then trailed off, unable to continue, choking out a small sob before instinctually burying his face into Noctis’ shoulder.

Yelping briefly, Noctis blinked, before he wrapped an arm around his friend’s shoulders, rubbing his back with the other. Regis watched them for a moment, before he reached over and gently rubbed Prompto’s head much like one would pet a cat. They both gave Prompto a few moments to compose himself, before Noctis lightly moved Prompto back a little. He gave him a slight apologetic look, before he moved to his sister and crouched down, placing a claw on his sister’s barely visible one.

“…Regina… we have to go now… I… we don’t want to leave you here… but… I… I know you’re happy where you are now… And I… I’m glad…” he paused there to take a deep breath, squeezing gently. “I… I still wish you… you didn’t have to go… but… it’s okay… it’ll be okay… _we’ll_ be okay… I-I promise…” He squeezed her hand one more time, before he stood up slowly. “…g… goodbye…” he whispered softly, stepping back slowly.

Sniffling quietly, Prompto took Noctis’ clawed hand in his own, before looking back at Regis.

Regis nodded softly, gently squeezing Prompto’s shoulder, before he stepped up to his daughter’s body as well, crouching down by her side and placing a hand on her head. “Rest easy, child…” he murmured. “Your worries are over now… Rest your wings and lay down your head… Let Bahamut guide you home… so you may spread your wings upon the Astral Plains once more…”

Nodding his head briefly, he gently moved aside her bangs, before he murmured: “Goodbye, my child…” and stood up once again.

The blonde bit his lip at the wise words Regis had spoken, before looking at the two black dragons he stood with.

Regis didn’t say anything, but he placed a hand on both of their shoulders, nodding once. Noctis nodded quietly, as he took Prompto’s hand, before they began to walk back again.

As they left, Prompto almost looked back at Regina one last time, but he felt it was best not to. Sighing internally, he kept close to Noctis.

The walk back was completely silent, with only the sound of their claws scraping over the ground being heard as they went. When they came outside, it was just in time to see some of the dragons Prompto and Noctis had spotted earlier flying away. When they passed the area, only Valanx and Niche were left, finishing up with the last adult white dragons.

The blonde didn’t let his gaze linger on the pair’s work for long, as he didn’t want to start breaking down again, quickly refocusing on Noctis’s hand holding his and the black dragons’s warm presence by his side. In response, Noctis squeezed his hand again, until they finally reached the area where they would take off. Both Regis and Noctis shifted into full dragon form once they had enough space, and Noctis lowered himself so Prom could get on.

Prompto did so, this time a little more awkwardly than usual thanks to the changes he’d gone through, but he managed. Once he was in place, Noctis spread out his wings, and then followed after his father as they returned to the Citadel.

While they flew back, Prompto’s thoughts drifted to how he’d been feeling around Noctis lately, of all things. He’d never felt this way about anyone back in Galahd, and for him to feel like this around Noctis? It was definitely strange. However, the more he thought on how his body had been responding around the black dragon, he started to wonder if he was actually falling for him.


End file.
